Five rescued after three months adrift near Kiribati

Five people, including two children, have been rescued near Fanning Island in Kiribati after drifting at sea for about three months in a small skiff, while four others from their group remain missing. Villagers found the survivors off Fanning Island after the nine-person boat failed to return to Ruo Island in the Federated States of Micronesia on July 30. The U.S. Coast Guard said the vessel was reported missing and that a search was suspended on August 9 without finding the boat or its occupants. The survivors were severely dehydrated and malnourished when they were found, Kiribati nursing officer Paukin Tororo said. They received intravenous fluids and were showing signs of recovery, she said. A local lawmaker, Kaotitaake Rakoroa, said a pastor on the island was caring for them. The U.S. Coast Guard said the group had been aboard a 20-foot skiff. Reports describing the route said the boat was making a one-hour crossing between the islands of Murilo and Ruo when it encountered a storm. One account gave a different departure location, so the group’s precise starting point has not been established in the reporting. The Coast Guard search covered 33,000 square miles over 10...