Five including two children rescued after three months drifting at sea
Five people, including two children, were rescued after three months lost at sea in a small boat from Micronesia.
A 20-foot skiff left Ruo Island in the Federated States of Micronesia with nine people aboard for what should have been a one-hour crossing. A storm caught the boat, and it drifted for three months.
The US Coast Guard searched 85,700 square kilometres for ten days without finding it. On Sunday, villagers off Fanning Island in Kiribati spotted the boat and rescued five survivors, including two children, about 5,400 kilometres east of Micronesia.
Four people remain unaccounted for. The survivors arrived severely dehydrated and malnourished but are recovering after receiving medical care and intravenous fluids.
They have requested privacy while they heal.
- 20-foot skiff
- Boat size
- Three months
- Drifting duration
- 85,700 square kilometres
- Search area
- 5,400 kilometres east
- Distance to rescue
Why it mattersRescue stories this long against the odds show remarkable survival and resilience. The search effort that found nothing suddenly succeeded when villagers spotted the boat.
AustraliaNo direct Australian effect yet, though the Pacific rescue region is within Australia's area of regional focus and interest.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 2 h ago
