Five Rescued After 3,355-Mile Pacific Drift, Four Still Missing

Q: What dark events unfolded on that 20-foot skiff to leave four passengers missing while five miraculously survived?

No one knows publicly yet what happened on the skiff to leave four people missing. Authorities and news reports say only that the boat, carrying nine people, was blown off course by a storm during a routine one-hour trip between Murilo and Ruo islands in Micronesia, then drifted for nearly three months across roughly 3,355 miles of open ocean before five survivors were found near Fanning Island in Kiribati. What is established is that the five who survived were in severe condition when rescued: dehydrated, malnourished and weak enough to require intravenous fluids. That strongly suggests the group endured prolonged shortages of fresh water and food, extreme exposure, and the physical strain of surviving in a 20-foot skiff on the open Pacific. Beyond that, the fate of the other four remains unconfirmed. The U.S. Coast Guard told the Associated Press it was still gathering and verifying information, and the survivors have not spoken publicly about their ordeal, requesting privacy. Officials in Chuuk and Kiribati have likewise not disclosed any account from the boat about whether the missing four died from dehydration or illness, were swept or fell overboard, or became separated under some other circumstance. So the “dark events” can only be inferred at this stage: a storm-triggered disappearance, months of drifting, and a likely survival struggle severe enough that only five were still aboard when villagers finally found the skiff.

3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 3

Five people — including two children — were brought to safety on Fanning Island in Kiribati after months adrift in a 20-foot skiff that had traveled about 3,355 miles.
The group of nine was reported missing on July 30 after failing to complete a short trip to Micronesia’s Ruo Island, and a U.S. Coast Guard search covering 25,000 square nautical miles was called off after 10 days.
Four passengers remain unaccounted for, and authorities have not said what happened to them during the drift.
Chuuk Governor Alexander Narruhn said he asked Micronesia’s president to work with Kiribati to return the survivors home as they receive care.