Five people, including two children, have been rescued in the remote Pacific Ocean after surviving for three months adrift in a small boat, according to authorities and international news outlets.
The three adults and two children who were rescued on Nov. 1 were among nine passengers who set out July 30. Their trip was intended to be a routine, one-hour crossing between the Micronesian islands of Murilo and Ruo, according to reports from the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) and The Times of London.
Shortly after departure, however, a sudden storm pushed the 20-foot skiff off course, leaving it stranded in open waters.
CRUISE SHIP BATTLES ROUGH PACIFIC SEAS TO SAVE INJURED, STRANDED SAILOR
After the disappearance, the U.S. Coast Guard launched an extensive search operation across the region.
After scouring over 25,000 nautical miles across 31 search patterns without locating the vessel, the agency suspended its active search on Aug. 10, it said in an initial news release.
The ordeal ended when residents of Fanning Island in Kiribati spotted the vessel drifting off their coast and brought the five passengers ashore, according to the ABC and The Times.
Kiribati lawmaker Kaotitaake Rakoroa told news outlets the survivors were taken in by a local church pastor, who provided immediate shelter and care.
The five were suffering from severe malnutrition and dehydration upon arrival.
Despite their physical condition, local medical staff noted steady improvement.
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Paukin Tororo, a nursing officer treating the survivors, told the ABC that the group had started showing positive signs of recovery, including smiling, moving their heads and indicating an appetite for food.
Authorities have not released details on how the group survived the three-month journey or what happened to the four passengers who remain unaccounted for to this day.
“Incredible and wonderful news. These five folks were found and are receiving care,” the U.S. Coast Guard told The Associated Press (AP) in an email.
“Our profound condolences to family and friends of those who did not arrive with them.”
When asked by the AP what happened to the missing four, the Coast Guard said it was continuing to gather and confirm information and would reply as soon as possible.
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Alexander Narruhn, governor of Micronesia’s Chuuk state, has started discussions with the Kiribati government to arrange repatriation for the survivors, the AP said.
“There were nine people aboard the boat that went missing. Thanks be to God for his love and mercy that five of the nine have been found,” Narruhn said through an interpreter in a statement cited by the AP.
“We continue to pray for their four companions.”
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The members of the group have yet to speak publicly about their ordeal and have asked for their privacy to be respected.
Family members in the Federated States of Micronesia told media outlets they have been in contact with some of the group.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Coast Guard for further comment and details.