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The U.S. Coast Guard in Guam on Tuesday confirmed that the skiff
with nine people aboard had been reported missing after it
failed to return to Ruo Island in Micronesia on July 30. A
10-day search covering 85,700 square kilometers (33,000 square
miles) followed without any sign of the missing boat or those
aboard, it said.
“Incredible and wonderful news these five folks were found and
are receiving care,” the U.S. Coast Guard told The Associated
Press in an email.
“Our profound condolences to family and friends of those who did
not arrive with them,” the email added.
When asked by the AP what happened to the missing four, the U.S.
Coast Guard said it was continuing to gather and confirm
information and would reply as soon as possible.
A lawmaker in Kiribati, Kaotitaake Rakoroa, told ABC the
survivors were being cared for by a pastor on the island.
Nursing officer Paukin Tororo told the ABC on Monday that all
five were severely dehydrated and malnourished. All were put on
intravenous drips and were showing signs of recovery.
“They can give a smile face, they show the sign they want to
eat,” she told the ABC.
The survivors had yet to speak publicly about their ordeal and
had requested privacy, the Australian broadcaster reported.
The governor of Micronesia's Chuuk state, Alexander Narruhn,
issued a statement Sunday saying he had begun talks with the
Kiribati government to bring the survivors home.
“There were nine people aboard the boat that went missing.
Thanks be to God for his love and mercy that five of the nine
have been found,” Narruhn said through an interpreter.
“We continue to pray for their four companions,” he added.
Narruhn did not immediately respond to the AP’s request for
comment.
The nine had been making a one-hour crossing between the islands
of Murilo and Ruo when they were caught in a storm, the ABC
reported.
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