WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand rescuers have found seven survivors from a ferry carrying an estimated 50 people that went missing more than a week ago from the Pacific nation of Kiribati. Defence Force Air Commodore Darryn Webb says a military Orion plane found the survivors Sunday aboard a small dinghy and dropped them supplies including food, water and a radio. A New Zealand Air Force Orion aircraft located the four to five-metre dinghy on Sunday and took images as the boat diverted to the scene to pick up the group. Local authorities were alerted to the missing 17-metre wooden catamaran after it failed to arrive in Betio on January 20, having left Nonouti Island two days prior. He said the dinghy was drifting more than 180 kilometers (112 miles) from the nearest major island when it was found. "The group seem very relieved to have been found when the New Zealand Air Force Orion dropped supplies, including water and a radio, to them about 10am today," says Rescue Co-ordination Centre of New Zealand (RCCNZ) Senior Search and Rescue Officer John Ashby.
Seven survivors from the MV Butiraoi, six adults and a baby, are found in a dinghy and rescued, four days after the 50-passenger ferry sank in Kiribati. New Zealand rescuers say there is a lot of debris near the dinghy, but no sign of anyone else.