13 Jul 2015

Kiribati men rescued after four days drifting at sea

6:51 pm on 13 July 2015

Coast Guard crews from Hawaii have helped rescue five men stranded in waters off Kiribati for four days.

Rescue crews spotted the 4 metre aluminum skiff while searching 300 kilometres eastnortheast of Kiribati's Teraina Island on Friday.

The men were reported to be in good health when they were rescued.

The Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Fiji notified the Coast Guard which was overdue after the men went fishing off Teraina Island last Monday.

The men were reportedly on a skiff with no engine, little provisions and no lifesaving equipment.

They were spotted by a Hercules air crew on Friday and then picked by one ship which will transfer them to another to return them to Kiribati.