After 50 Days Lost at Sea, 3 Teens Rescued

Boys reportedly survived by eating a seagull
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 25, 2010 10:36 AM CST
After 50 Days Lost at Sea, 3 Teens Rescued
A photo of a different boat that was once feared lost at sea.   (AP Photo/Australian Maritime Safety Authority via the Sunderland family)

Three teens who have been missing in the South Pacific for 50 days—and were already eulogized in a memorial service—have been found alive by a New Zealand fishing boat. The boys, two 15-year-olds and a 14-year-old, disappeared while attempting to row between two islands in the New Zealand territory of Tokelau in early October and were given up for dead after an extensive search involving the country's air force.

Their craft had drifted 800 miles to a desolate part of the Pacific northeast of Fiji, when the crew of a tuna boat saw them frantically waving for help yesterday afternoon.The rescue came not a moment too soon: The first mate of the ship that found them said they had begun to drink sea water because it hadn't rained in the past few nights. Local media also reported that the boys survived by eating a seagull that had landed on their boat. (More rescue stories.)

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