Chinese ship rescues 6 PNG nationals adrift in South Pacific for 37 days

Six people from Papua New Guinea (PNG), who have been rescued by the Marshall Islands-registered ship LOMETO of Shanghai Kai Chuang Marine International Co., Ltd. in the Solomon Islands waters, pose for a photo on the ship on Feb. 26, 2024. Six people from Papua New Guinea (PNG) have been rescued by a Chinese fishing ship after spending 37 days adrift in the South Pacific, the Chinese Embassy in Papua New Guinea said on Tuesday. (LOMETO/Handout via Xinhua)

SYDNEY, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Six people from Papua New Guinea (PNG) have been rescued by a Chinese fishing ship after spending 37 days adrift in the South Pacific, the Chinese Embassy in Papua New Guinea said on Tuesday.

These people including five adults and a nine-year-old boy were in a small boat, which was spotted at noon on Monday by the Marshall Islands-registered ship LOMETO of Shanghai Kai Chuang Marine International Co., Ltd. in the Solomon Islands waters, the embassy told Xinhua.

The rescued people said they were all from Papua New Guinea, and their boat had lost power and been adrift at sea for 37 days.

After being rescued, the six people received health check-ups and got food and drinks from the Chinese boat. All of them are in good condition currently, according to the embassy.