24 Mar 2004

Fijians adrift at sea for 3 days found by the French navy

2:56 pm on 24 March 2004

Five Fijians, who had been drifting at sea for three days, have been found by a French patrol boat, according to the Fiji military.

The La Glorieuse was between the Fiji islands of Kadavu and Vatulele on Monday evening after a goodwill visit to the capital Suva, when it detected the overdue half-cabin aluminium boat the men were in.

The French contacted Fijian authorities and the men were picked up by the Fijian Navy vessel Kiro.

The five Fijians were returning to Vatulele Island last Friday from Kadavu, five hours away, when they ran out of fuel.