Air Force Orion locates missing boat

Four teenagers missing for six days in a 16-foot boat in the seas off Kiribati have been found by a Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion.

The four, three girls and a boy, were all well but drifting about 50 nautical miles north west of the island of Tarawa.

Their outboard motor stopped due to mechanical problems and the relieved teenagers were all waving frantically to attract the attention of the Orion crew.

The search and rescue mission was co-ordinated by the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) in Fiji who sent a request to RCC in New Zealand late on Thursday.

The Orion left early on Friday and found the missing vessel just after an hour of arriving in the 11,000sq km search area.

A patrol boat from Tarawa was provided guidance to the location of the survivors and they were picked up about 10.30pm last night.

"It's a great result to locate survivors in such a vast search area," said the commanding officer of No 5 Squadron, Wing Commander Nick Olney.

"Our Orion crews are very highly trained and have significant experience in these missions, however you never really know what you're faced with until you arrive in the search area."

- NZPA