Five people rescued off Kiribati after three months adrift at sea

Five people were rescued off the coast of Kiribati after drifting thousands of kilometres at sea over three months, Euronews reported. Villagers off Fanning Island spotted the group, which included two children, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation cited by Euronews. [1][2]

The group had set off on a 20-foot skiff on July 30 with four other individuals, intending to travel between Murilo and Ruo islands in Micronesia. A storm caught the vessel, causing it to drift an estimated 5,400 kilometres east of Micronesia, Euronews reported. [1]

Kiribati consists of 32 coral atolls and one raised coral island scattered across an exclusive economic zone spanning 3.44 million square kilometres of ocean. The total land area of Kiribati measures 811 square kilometres. [4]

Alexander Narruhn, the governor of Chuuk state in Micronesia, stated that he was in talks with the Kiribati government to bring the five survivors home, Euronews reported. [1]