Seven survivors from a ferry which disappeared more than a week ago have been found by search and rescue teams in the Pacific Ocean.

The boat was found drifting in the search area on Sunday morning, eight days after the MV Buitraoi ferry, carrying around 50 people, went missing off the coast of Kiribati.

But 43 people are feared dead with the ferry still missing and more than half of the search area already covered.

The crew of a Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion plane located the boat two hours into the search on Sunday morning for the MV Butiraoi, a 17.5 metre wooden catamaran.

The New Zealand Defence Force confirmed the seven people found were on board the vessel after an air force plane spotted the small boat.

Authorities believe it was one of two boats carried on the side of the ferry.

All the people who were on board the ferry are thought to be locals.

Efforts are now being coordinated with a fishing vessel 92km away to pick up the survivors.

The FV Lomalo is expected to rendezvous with the survivors on Sunday afternoon, Air Commodore Darryn Webb, the Air Component Commander for the NZDF said.

'The Orion will continue to search the area, making every effort to locate any more survivors, while awaiting the rendezvous with the fishing vessel,' Air Commodore Webb added.

The missing ferry, which had 50 passengers on board, was due to arrive in Betio, the country's captial, on January 20 after departing Nonouiti Island.

“The group seem very relieved to have been found when the NZ Airforce Orion dropped supplies, including water and a radio, to them about 10am today,” said John Ashby, senior search and rescue officer of the Rescue Coordination Centre of New Zealand.

Local authorities said the boat ran aground and underwent repairs to its propeller shaft before it left Nonouti Island.

It has a high frequency radio but it is not known whether it has enough fuel and emergency supplies on board.

The 240km inter-island voyage was due to take two days to complete.

Seven people are on board the small five metre boat and teams from the NZ Orion aircraft have dropped emergency aid including a radio into the water.

A spokesman from the New Zealand Defence Force said they could not confirm whether the people are from the missing ferry.

Crews have attempted to reach communication with the boat but say they have not been able to ascertain its origin.

Rescue efforts are being co-ordinated between New Zealand, Fiji and Kiribati authorities.

The ferry is described as having a dark blue hull and yellow cabin fixed on top.

The Rescue Coordination Centre of New Zealand (RCCNZ) has so far scoured more than half of the possible search area - estimated to be the size of New Zealand.

Radio transmissions have been broadcast along the coastline and contact has been made with each island for sightings.

John Ashby, a senior search and rescue officer with the RCCNZ, said earlier: 'We are doing everything we can to locate this ferry and its passengers.

'We understand the vessel underwent repairs to its propeller shaft just before it departed. This may have contributed to problems navigating the journey.'

Kiribati is a collection of 33 islands with a population of 110,000 people, with the largest group located 1,500km north of Fiji. </s> WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand rescuers have found seven survivors from a ferry carrying an estimated 50 people that went missing more than a week ago from the Pacific nation of Kiribati.

Defence Force Air Commodore Darryn Webb says a military Orion plane found the survivors Sunday aboard a small dinghy and dropped them supplies including food, water and a radio. He says a fishing vessel has diverted to the location and is expected to pick up the survivors Sunday afternoon.

Authorities say the MV Butiraoi, a 17.5-metre (57-foot) wooden catamaran, left Nonouti Island bound for South Tarawa on Jan. 18. The journey of 240 kilometers (149 miles) was expected to take two days.

Senior Search and Rescue Officer John Ashby says the ferry was first reported missing to them on Friday.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> New Zealand rescuers have found seven survivors from a ferry carrying an estimated 50 people that went missing more than a week ago from the Pacific nation of Kiribati.

Defence Force Air Commodore Darryn Webb says a military Orion plane found the survivors Sunday aboard a small dinghy and dropped them supplies including food, water and a radio. He says a fishing vessel has diverted to the location and is expected to pick up the survivors Sunday afternoon.

Authorities say the MV Butiraoi, a 17.5-metre (57-foot) wooden catamaran, left Nonouti Island bound for South Tarawa on Jan. 18. The journey of 240 kilometers (149 miles) was expected to take two days.

Senior Search and Rescue Officer John Ashby says the ferry was first reported missing to them on Friday. </s> WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand rescuers have found seven survivors from a ferry carrying an estimated 50 people that went missing more than a week ago from the Pacific nation of Kiribati.

Defence Force Air Commodore Darryn Webb says a military Orion plane found the survivors Sunday aboard a small dinghy and dropped them supplies including food, water and a radio. He says a fishing vessel has diverted to the location and is expected to pick up the survivors Sunday afternoon.

Authorities say the MV Butiraoi, a 17.5-metre (57-foot) wooden catamaran, left Nonouti Island bound for South Tarawa on Jan. 18. The journey of 240 kilometres (149 miles) was expected to take two days.

Senior Search and Rescue Officer John Ashby says the ferry was first reported missing to them on Friday. </s> WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand rescuers have found seven survivors from a ferry carrying an estimated 50 people that went missing more than a week ago from the Pacific nation of Kiribati.

Defence Force Air Commodore Darryn Webb says a military Orion plane found the survivors Sunday aboard a small dinghy and dropped them supplies including food, water and a radio. He says a fishing vessel has diverted to the location and is expected to pick up the survivors Sunday afternoon.

Authorities say the MV Butiraoi, a 17.5-metre (57-foot) wooden catamaran, left Nonouti Island bound for South Tarawa on Jan. 18. The journey of 240 kilometers (149 miles) was expected to take two days.

Senior Search and Rescue Officer John Ashby says the ferry was first reported missing to them on Friday. </s> Rescuers find nothing after search for missing Kiribati ferry carrying 50 people

A ferry with an estimated 50 people on board has been missing for more than a week off the coast of the Pacific nation of Kiribati, rescue authorities say.

New Zealand's Rescue Coordination Centre said it had sent a military Orion plane to assist in the search of an area of ocean approximately the size of Britain. The search is being led by Fiji.

The NZ Air Force said it searched more than 300,000 square kilometres on Saturday and found nothing.

Authorities said the ferry departed Nonouti Island bound for the Kiribati capital of South Tarawa on January 18.

The 240-kilometre journey was expected to take two days.

NZ senior search and rescue officer John Ashby said the MV Butiraoi, a 17.5-metre wooden catamaran, was first reported missing to them late Friday (local time).

He said the vessel underwent repairs to its propeller shaft just before leaving, which may have contributed to navigation problems.

Ashby said people on islands and vessels along the planned route are being contacted to ask if they have seen the vessel.

Kiribati is a remote, impoverished nation of 33 atolls that is home to about 108,000 people.

NZ's search for the ferry was wound up about 5:00pm Saturday (local time) and was scheduled to resume at first light on Sunday. </s> A fishing boat has collected seven people in a dingy found in the search for a Kiribati ferry that's been missing in the Pacific for more than a week.

A New Zealand Air Force Orion aircraft located the four to five-metre dinghy on Sunday and took images as the boat diverted to the scene to pick up the group.

"The group seem very relieved to have been found when the New Zealand Air Force Orion dropped supplies, including water and a radio, to them about 10am today," says Rescue Co-ordination Centre of New Zealand (RCCNZ) Senior Search and Rescue Officer John Ashby.

Mr Ashby said the dinghy was understood to be one of two carried on the missing ferry, MV Butiraoi, and was located within a search area in the Pacific as large as New Zealand in size.

Local authorities were alerted to the missing 17m wooden catamaran after it failed to arrive in Betio on January 20, having left Nonouti island two days prior.

The RCCNZ received a request for aerial assistance on Friday.

Kiribati authorities say the ferry underwent repairs to its propeller shaft before leaving Nonouti. </s> WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Authorities say a ferry with an estimated 50 people aboard has been missing for more than a week off the coast of the Pacific nation of Kiribati.

New Zealand's Rescue Coordination Centre says it has sent a military Orion plane to assist in the search, which is being led by Fiji.

The ferry departed Nonouti Island bound for South Tarawa on Jan. 18. The journey of 240 kilometres (149 miles) was expected to take two days.

Senior Search and Rescue Officer John Ashby said Saturday the MV Butiraoi, a 17.5-metre (57-foot) wooden catamaran, was first reported missing to them late Friday.

Ashby says the vessel underwent repairs to its propeller shaft just before leaving.

Kiribati is a remote, impoverished nation of 33 atolls that is home to about 108,000 people. </s> A ferry carrying an estimated 50 people is missing in Kiribati, prompting an international search involving New Zealand and Fiji authorities.

The MV Butiraoi, an inter-island passenger ferry, was making a two-day, 240km trip from the island of Nonouti, north to Betio Terawa, the largest township of Kiribati’s capital city.

The ferry left on 18 January and was expected to arrive two days later.

The boat failed to arrive and is still missing seven days later. The vessel was only recently reported overdue, according to New Zealand authorities.

The Rescue Coordination Centre of New Zealand (RCCNZ) announced it had joined the search for the boat on Saturday morning local time, supporting the efforts of Fijian authorities.

New Zealand’s air force has deployed a P3 Orion aerial surveillance aircraft, and the coordination centre is attempting to narrow down the search area.

A local vessel will also begin checking the route between the two islands. Other islands along the ferry’s path have been contacted and local radio is broadcasting to check for sightings. 



The ferry, described as a 17.5m wooden catamaran, had problems with its propeller shaft before departing. 



RCCNZ senior search and rescue officer, John Ashby, said New Zealand was “doing everything we can to locate this ferry and its passengers”.



“We understand the vessel underwent repairs to its propeller shaft just before it departed,” Ashby said.

“This may have contributed to problems navigating the journey.”



He said the weather was moderate with some swells.

In October, after rescuing a group of three fishermen in Kiribati, Commodore Darryn Webb of the New Zealand air force urged that boats be fitted with proper communications and emergency equipment.
Rescuers, including the Royal New Zealand Air Force, search for the Kiribati ferry MV Butiraoi with around 50 people on board after it is declared missing.