Asia-Pacific

NZ Air Force continuing search for six missing off Kiribati

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-09 16:17

WELLINGTON - The search has resumed for six people missing off Kiribati, with a reported sighting of an unoccupied canoe.

The group's three-meter outrigger canoe, and a smaller dinghy it was towing, haven't been seen since Friday, Radio New Zealand International reported.

A New Zealand Air Force Orion helicopter, with assistance from a Kiribati vessel, picked up the search for the two 19-year-old men and four girls aged between eight and 14, on Monday.

A spokesperson for the New Zealand Rescue Coordination Center, Ross Henderson, said they are taking into account the canoe sighting a day or two ago.