More details of PNG sea ordeal emerge

AUDIO from Pacific Beat

Survivors recover at a Marshall Islands hospital

Created: 19/11/2009

Last Updated: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:37:00 +1100

More details are emerging about the eight young men from Papua New Guinea who spent two months adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

The US owned Ocean Encounter fishing vessel picked up seven of the men off the coast of Nauru on Friday.

Official documents confirming their ages and the details of their ordeal have been obtained by Radio Australia.

According to the Captain's report, the Ocean Encounter's helicopter spotted the small craft adrift and could see 2 or 3 persons waving in what appeared to be gestures for help.

The pilot radioed the ship's captain who changed course for the distressed vessel which was approximately 7 kilometres away.

The Rescue and Recovery report confirmed that all men showed signs of overexposure and malnutrition.

The report also outlines how two of the men were so weak they had to be carried on board.

Those men later died enroute to a hospital in Marshall Islands.

A log of the rescued survivors confirms they were aged between 18 and 29. They came from Lihir Island in PNG's New Ireland province.

An eight passenger, aged just 17, was lost at sea days before the rescue.

Community support

Meanwhile, members of the Papua New Guinean community in Marshall Islands have rallied together to help the survivors.

The five survivors are now being treated at Majuro Hospital in Marshall Islands, where one of the doctors treating them, Marie Paul, says they've been in touch with the local PNG community.

"They're talking to their attending citizens and the PNG community," she said.

"We have a few folk from PNG who are working here who have been coming in and offer support and supplies in terms of food, clothing and all their other needs."