Missing teenagers found after 50 days at sea

Three Tokelauan teenagers missing at sea for 50 days have miraculously been rescued by a New Zealand fishing boat.

The three boys, Samuel Perez and Filo Filo, both 15, and Edward Nasau, 14, went missing from the atoll of Atafu on October 5 and survived by eating a solitary seagull which landed on their small craft, the Stuff website reported.

The boys had been given up for dead by the Atafu community, who held a memorial service after an extensive search involving an RNZAF Orion failed to find them.

First Mate of the San Nikuna Tai Fredricsen, of the Bay of Islands, said it was a "miracle" the boys were found, especially considering that his fishing boat was sailing in an area it usually did not travel into.

When they were found the boys had drifted 1300 kilometres to a little travelled part of the Pacific just west of Uvea in the French territory of Wallis and Futuna and north east of Fiji.

Mr Fredricsen said the boys started waving frantically as they got to within a mile of their small speed boat.

They were in surprisingly good spirits after so long at sea and were nursed back to health with small portions of fruit and water and bandaging for skin which had been damaged by spending so long in the open.

Pretty soon they were after some real food and they were given a "kiwi breakfast".

If the boys had not been found they might not have survived much longer as there had been no rain over the past two days and they had resorted to drinking sea water, Mr Fredricsen said.

- NZPA