Nine family members from the Federated States of Micronesia who set out on a routine supply run in a six-metre skiff found themselves on a three-month, 4,800-kilometre odyssey across the Pacific. Five of them, including three men and two 13-year-old boys, were rescued on the shores of Tabuaeran in Kiribati on Sunday after nearly 100 days adrift. Four of their kin, including a child, died during the voyage.
Tedwinson Paul, 31, the eldest of the five survivors, had made the crossing before. The family departed from Chuuk, in the Federated States of Micronesia, for a nearby island. On their return journey, their boat ran out of fuel and was blown off course, said Arthur Irons II, an official in the Micronesian state.
When the boat failed to return, Irons notified the federal government. The US Coast Guard launched an air and sea search, covering 85,700 square kilometres with military and commercial vessels. After 10 days without a trace, the search was called off. Irons said the passengers saw ships and planes in the distance but their vessel was too far away.
The passengers drank rainwater to sustain themselves, Irons said. They caught birds and turtles for food, according to nurse Baukin Raimon and a clerk on the island where they landed. The four who died were tossed overboard.
In late October, after almost 100 days at sea, an island appeared on the horizon. The next day, the skiff ran aground and broke apart on the coral shores of Tabuaeran in Kiribati, more than 4,800 kilometres from their original destination. Sounds of Sunday morning church bells guided the survivors into town. Villagers initially thought the stumbling, unclothed figures were drunk, Raimon said. The pastor halted services to investigate, and the town quickly took the survivors into its care. Raimon administered intravenous drips. By Tuesday, Raimon said, the men could stand on their own, though the two boys were still too weak to move unassisted.
Back in Micronesia, reactions mixed relief with grief. 'We never expect things like this to happen,' Irons said. Paul told Irons on a tearful video call that he was grateful to have lived but ridden with guilt over those who did not. The governor's office in Chuuk said in a statement: 'We are thankful to God for bringing back the five individuals, and we continue to pray for the four who did not make it.' The US Coast Guard said it was 'extremely relieved' to learn the group had been found and was receiving care.
Irons said such incidents were like a routine. He was himself stranded at sea for several days after his boat sank in 2016. Just two weeks ago, he said, a boat leaving an island in Micronesia disappeared with three or four people on board. He said the boat was found, but no survivors were found.
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- SupportedFive people survived a three-month ordeal at sea, while four family members died.The Age - Latest News: “What should have been a short jaunt back home in their six-metre skiff became a three-month, 4800-plus-kilometre odyssey across the ocean that left four of his kin, including a child, dead. He and the other survivors were rescued in the island nation of Kiribati on Sunday after nearly 100 days adrift”
- Partly supportedThe skiff drifted 4,800 kilometres from Chuuk to Kiribati after running out of fuel.The Age - Latest News: “At some point on their trip home, their boat ran out of fuel and blew off course, said Arthur Irons II, an official in the Micronesian state from which the family had departed.”
- SupportedNine family members from the Federated States of Micronesia set out on a routine supply run in a six-metre skiff.The Age - Latest News: “At 31, he was the oldest of nine family members on a routine supply run to a nearby island in the Federated States of Micronesia in their six-metre skiff.”
- SupportedFive survivors, including three men and two 13-year-old boys, were rescued in Kiribati on Sunday after nearly 100 days adrift.The Age - Latest News: “He and the other survivors were rescued in the island nation of Kiribati on Sunday after nearly 100 days adrift”
- SupportedThe boat ran out of fuel and blew off course, according to Arthur Irons II.The Age - Latest News: “At some point on their trip home, their boat ran out of fuel and blew off course, said Arthur Irons II, an official in the Micronesian state from which the family had departed.”
- SupportedThe US Coast Guard searched an area of 85,700 square kilometres and called off the search after 10 days without a sign of the boat.The Age - Latest News: “The US Coast Guard, which helps patrol the region, launched a search by air and sea, marshalling military and commercial vessels to sweep an area of 85,700 square kilometres. But after 10 days without any sign of the missing boat, the Coast Guard called off the effort.”
- SupportedIrons said, “We never expect things like this to happen.”The Age - Latest News: ““We never expect things like this to happen,” Irons said.”
- SupportedPaul told Irons on a tearful video call that he was grateful to have lived but felt guilt over those who died.The Age - Latest News: “Paul, the eldest survivor, had told him through tears on a video call that he was grateful to have lived but ridden with guilt over those who did not, he said.”
- SupportedThe governor’s office in Chuuk said, “We are thankful to God for bringing back the five individuals, and we continue to pray for the four who did not make it.”The Age - Latest News: ““We are thankful to God for bringing back the five individuals, and we continue to pray for the four who did not make it,” the governor’s office in Chuuk, the Micronesian state from which the vessel departed, said in a statement.”
- SupportedThe US Coast Guard said it was “extremely relieved” the group had been found and was receiving care.The Age - Latest News: “The US Coast Guard was “extremely relieved to hear that five individuals were found and are receiving care”, a spokesperson for its Oceania district said.”