THREE Bougainvilleans, rescued at sea and now in Kiribati, survived on fish and roasted cocoa beans for 69 days in the Pacific Ocean.
The three Nissan Islanders were rescued in international waters between Hawaii and Kiribati, about 2,908 nautical miles from Buka, on Saturday.
Brothers Mitchel and Darrel Tokiapron and their cousin sister, Horan Kapiatu, were travelling from Nissan Island to Buka on Tuesday, July 21, when they ran out of fuel just seven nautical miles off Buka.
They survived on dried cocoa beans they had intended to sell in Buka, fish they caught which were attracted to feed on the barnacles on the sides of the boat, and rain water they collected on their canvas.
They spent nearly 10 weeks in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, drifting between Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Kiribati, before being pulled to the North Pacific Ocean towards Hawaii.
A fishing boat picked them up about 4pm (local time) on Saturday and dropped them off with Kiribati Customs officials on Kiritimati (Christmas Island).
The trio underwent medical checks, and are now lodged at Little Flower Guesthouse, a Catholic-run facility.
They encountered the ordeal three days after the Pangpang boating tragedy in Kokopo, East New Britain, which claimed the lives of about 28 persons.
They had encountered rough seas, swelling up to two metres, strong winds and tides, which forced them to burn more fuel.
Strong currents pulled them towards the east coast of New Ireland, and drifted around Lihir waters for three days.
Meanwhile, on the west coast, a search-and-rescue operation was beefed up for the Pangpang victims.
Darrel, speaking to The National from Kiribati, said in the boat were a bag of dried cocoa (63kg) and three bags of copra (40kg), which they had brought from Nissan.
They had to throw overboard the three bags of copra to lighten the load.
Darrel said about 10kg of cocoa was left from the bag when they were rescued.
“We ate the cocoa with coconut, fresh fish, shark and turtle we caught,” he said.
“There were so many fish and turtle that came to feed on the fungi under the boat.
“This attracted lots of sharks.
“We caught medium-sized sharks to eat.”
Darrel said when there was no rain water, “we drank a little salt water to help swallow food”.
Roasted cocoa bean comprise a rich mix of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and bioactive compounds.
This gave them enough energy to survive the ordeal.
It is understood that the Bougainville Disaster Office is communicating with the Immigration and Citizenship Authority to finalise paperwork and planning for their repatriation from the Kiribati capital of Tarawa.
The Foreign Affairs Department could not be reached for a comment.
