Rescuers search for a ferry with an estimated 50 people on board after it went missing in the Kiribati Islands. Image Courtesy: Whisper Eye

 

WELLINGTON: The search resumed Sunday for a ferry with 50 people on board missing for more than a week in the scattered islands of the central Pacific nation of Kiribati.

The inter-island ferry MV Butiraoi has not been heard from since January 18 when it set out on an expected two-day voyage from the island of Nonouti to Betio Tarawa.

The 17.5-metre wooden catamaran had undergone repairs to its propeller shaft before departure and New Zealand Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCCNZ) officials believe this may have contributed to navigation problems.

"Rescue services have had no communication from the crew," RCCNZ officer John Ashby said.

"We are relying on our drift predictions to narrow down the search area as much as possible to increase the chances of finding their location as soon as we can."

New Zealand sent a military aircraft to conduct sweeps of the area after being called in to help late Friday by Fiji search authorities.

An Air Kiribati aircraft is to join the aerial sweep on Sunday while a local vessel conducts a sea search.

Ashby said the sea conditions are "moderate to rough".

Kiribati a nation of 33 atolls and reefs with a total population of about 110,000, lies some 3,460 kilometres (2,150 miles) northeast of Fiji.

It is listed as one of the nations most at risk from rising sea levels.