Nine students among those rescued at sea in Morobe

Main Stories

NINE students were among the 13 people rescued at sea by a tug boat on Tuesday after their dinghy ran out of fuel.
They had been adrift at sea between Salamaua Point and Lae for about 30 minutes.
The tug boat mv Kwila III owned by the South Sea Lines rescued them.
Boat captain Misaele Nute said the 13 people in a dinghy were paddling towards them asking for help.
“It was heavy rain and wind when the 13 people paddled to us and asked for help,” Nute said.
“The current took them to where we were anchored. They were all wet and shivering. We fed them and gave them our clothes to change.”
Grade 9 student Basil Sakai, 18, said they left the Morobe Patrol Post at around 10am on Tuesday heading for Lae when they ran out of fuel.
“We briefly stopped at Salamaua Point at around 4pm to refuel. We got just enough fuel to come to Lae but because the weather was bad we went off course and the fuel ran out,” he said.
“At around 6pm we saw the tug boat and called out for help. They rescued us. The crew took us on board and gave us clothes and food. We spent the night with them on the boat.”