Three teenagers who survived on rainwater and a seagull during 61 days adrift off their remote Pacific territory of Tokelau were safe in Fiji today after what was hailed as a 'miracle' rescue.
They were plucked from the water some 1,420km from their island home as weather forecasters warned of a tropical cyclone bearing down on Fiji.
Filo Filo and Samuel Perez, both 15, and 14-year-old Edward Nasau went missing in a small aluminium boat in late September.
They were presumed to have died after unsuccessful searches by the New Zealand air force in early October and the 500 people on their island of Atafu had held memorial services for them.
The boys were found by the New Zealand-based tuna vessel the San Nikunau on Wednesday.
Tai Fredricsen, who was at the helm of the San Nikunau when he found the teenagers, said the boys had resorted to sipping seawater when the rain stopped and would not have survived much longer.
'It was a miracle we got to them,' he told Fairfax Media.
'I pulled the vessel up as close as I could to them and asked them if they needed any help. They said 'very much so'. They were ecstatic to see us.
'They were very skinny, but physically in good health, compared to what they have been through.'
Mr Fredricsen said the boys had a couple of coconuts on board but no water.
'Somehow they caught a bird, I don't know how, but they caught it. They ate it, that is what is recommended.
'They were having little sips of seawater, which wouldn't have been a great idea, but they had only done it for the last couple of days.'
The boys had 'only days to survive', he said.
The teenagers were transferred to the Fiji naval patrol boat Kula and arrived in the capital Suva today.
The trio were checked at the navy base before being taken to hospital for a thorough examination.
The boys are said to be severely dehydrated and weak on their legs. They are currently on a fluid diet.
'It's a miracle, it's a miracle,' Tanu Filo, the father of one of the boys, told Radio New Zealand from Tokelau.
