Teenage boys survive 50 days adrift in South Pacific
Saturday, 27 November 2010
WELLINGTON (AFP): Three teenage boys set adrift for 50 days in a small boat in the South Pacific survived on coconuts, a seagull they managed to catch and by drinking rain and then sea water, rescuers said Friday.
"It was a miracle we got to them," said Tai Fredricsen, first mate on the fishing boat that rescued the boys.
"They are in incredibly good shape for the time they have been at sea. Somehow they caught a bird, I don't know how, but they caught it. They ate it, that is what is recommended (in survival manuals)," Fredricsen told New Zealand media.
The boys, from the New Zealand territory of Tokelau, disappeared from its Atafu atoll on October 6.
"It was a miracle we got to them," said Tai Fredricsen, first mate on the fishing boat that rescued the boys.
"They are in incredibly good shape for the time they have been at sea. Somehow they caught a bird, I don't know how, but they caught it. They ate it, that is what is recommended (in survival manuals)," Fredricsen told New Zealand media.
The boys, from the New Zealand territory of Tokelau, disappeared from its Atafu atoll on October 6.