An isolated atoll in the southern Marshall Islands must have been a most welcome sight to two Kiribati sailors who were washed ashore after drifting for more than a month in the Pacific.
Marshall Islands Sea Patrol adviser Lieutenant Commander George McKenzie said the two men were in "reasonable" condition after their ordeal.
The as yet unnamed 53 and 26 old sailors went missing from Kiribati on October 22 and were finally washed ashore on Thursday at Nimdrik, about 500km from their homeland. Details on how they become lost and how they survived were not yet available.
Lt McKenzie said, "The boat had been reported missing and at the time a three-day air and sea search was undertaken, controlled by US Coast Guard in Honolulu, in coordination with officials in Kiribati.”
Arrangements were being made to take the men to the Marshall Island's capital Majuro and then home to Kiribati.
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