Five Survivors Rescued After Three-Month Pacific Drift on Tiny Skiff
Five people, two of them children, were rescued on Fanning Island, Kiribati after drifting over 5,400 km for three months on a 20‑foot skiff.
POLICY WIRE — Fanning Island, Kiribati — Five individuals, two of them children, were brought to safety on Sunday after spending nearly three months adrift on a 20‑foot skiff in the South Pacific.
The small wooden boat had left Micronesia on July 30, intended for a brief one‑hour passage between nearby islands, but it never reached its destination and was later listed as missing.
Authorities later learned that the vessel, originally carrying nine occupants, had drifted an estimated 5,400 kilometres across open ocean, exposing the survivors to harsh weather, limited supplies and extreme isolation.
Local residents on Fanning Island spotted the drifting skiff on Sunday, pulled it ashore and provided emergency aid, while the remaining four passengers remain unaccounted for.
Kiribati officials confirmed the rescue, noting the extraordinary length of the ordeal and praising the islanders’ quick response that saved the five survivors.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
