Miracle at Sea: Three Boys Rescued After 50 Days in Pacific

Nov. 25, 2010— -- A small Pacific island territory is celebrating after the rescue of three teenage boys who had been presumed dead after 50 days at sea.

The three teens -- Edward Nasau, 14, and 15-year-olds Samu Perez and Filo Filo -- were found Wednesday adrift in their small aluminum boat by a tuna vessel northeast of Fiji, the BBC reported.

Having survived on nothing but coconuts, water trapped by a tarpaulin and a seabird that landed on their small vessel, the boys were reported to be dehydrated and badly sunburned but otherwise unscathed.

The teens, who hail from Tokelau Islands, a New Zealand territory in the south Pacific, had gone missing in October. Intense searches for them and their boat turned up nothing, leading their loved ones to assume they'd perished at sea.

In an interview with Radio New Zealand, Tai Fredricsen, first mate of San Nikunau, the tuna vessel that spotted the teens, said they were now aboard his ship, listening to music and watching cartoons.

"In the physical sense they looked very physically depleted," Fredricsen told Radio New Zealand but said their spirits were high as they repeatedly thanked their rescuers.

Samu Perez's aunt told the BBC after her nephew's rescue that the boy's family had already held a memorial service for him.

"My mum, she cried very day and every night," Fekei said. "We believed he was still alive anyway. We thought that God was still with them."

The woman told the BBC that the teens may have been trying to sail to Australia or the United States. She has spoken by phone with Perez, she told the BBC, and said he was asking for forgiveness.

"I think they did learn a big lesson," she said.