@occonews: A routine boat trip expected to take about one hour became a three-month ordeal in the Pacific. Five survivors, including two children, were rescued by villagers off Fanning Island in Kiribati on November 1—approximately 5,400 kilometers from their departure area in Micronesia. The roughly six-meter skiff left on July 30 with nine people aboard for a crossing between Murilo and Ruo. According to ABC, the boat encountered a storm and failed to arrive. The U.S. Coast Guard, assisted by U.S. military aircraft, searched for ten days without finding the vessel. The search was suspended on August 9. Around three months later, villagers off Fanning Island spotted the drifting boat. Three adult men and two boys remained aboard. They were brought ashore, cared for by a local church pastor and treated by medical staff. Nursing officer Paukin Tororo told ABC that all five were severely dehydrated and malnourished. They received intravenous fluids and began showing signs of improvement. She said they could smile and indicate that they wanted food. Local lawmaker Kaotitaake Rakoroa recommended transferring them to Kiritimati for further treatment. Chuuk Governor Alexander Narruhn said efforts were underway to coordinate their return home with Kiribati authorities. The fate of the other four people has not been fully established publicly. The U.S. Coast Guard told AP it was gathering and confirming information. Survivors had not spoken publicly about their ordeal and requested privacy, so accounts of what they ate, how they obtained water or what happened to their companions should not be invented.

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Wednesday 04 November 2026 06:30:24 GMT