30 Jan 2018

Kiribati ferry sinking: Hope remains for another life raft

From Morning Report, 7:22 am on 30 January 2018

It's not known how many people were on the Kiribati ferry that's been missing for 11 days, but it's feared up to 100 may have been on board. Aircraft from Australia and the US Coast Guard have joined the search for survivors. Yesterday an RNZAF Orion spotted seven survivors drifting in a dinghy, and they were rescued by a fishing boat.

It's understood survivors told rescuers they managed to get off the ferry as it capsized. Paul Craven from the Rescue Coordination Centre tells us the boat had two dinghies & a life raft. One dinghy has been found, one dinghy is suspected to have sunk, and Mr Craven says they still have hope for people on the life raft.