Air Force saves drifting fishermen

A Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion crew spotted six fishermen drifting north of Tonga in an area of reefs after their boat's engine had stopped.

Orion captain Squadron Leader Andy Nielsen said the fishermen had run out of food and water and had been drifting for more than a day when found late on Saturday afternoon.

The crew had been alerted by an emergency beacon call and found the boat after flying three hours from Whenuapai.

"They were in amongst a lot of reefs when we found them so they would have struck major difficulties if they had remained drifting too much longer," said Sqn Ldr Nielsen.

"The boat's emergency beacon stopped half an hour before we arrived on the scene so we located them initially through radar."

A Tongan navy patrol vessel towed the boat back to shore after being told of its location.

The RNZAF is responsible for search and rescue operations within New Zealand's Maritime Search and Rescue Area, which encompasses much of the South Pacific.

- NZPA