A NZ Air Force Orion will continue to search for a group of six , including children, who are missing off the coast of Kiribati.
They were on 3-metre outrigger canoe, which was towing a smaller dinghy, and haven't been seen since Friday.
The boats are believed to have drifted out of a lagoon and into the open ocean.
The Orion will start searching an area of about one thousand square nautical miles from mid-morning.
It was asked by the Kiribati authorities yesterday to assist a local search team.
The Rescue Coordination Centre of New Zealand says weather conditions in the region have been good and the boats are not expected to have drifted too far.
.
