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Coast Guard crews, Rescue Coordination Center Fiji, and the merchant vessel Natinteraoi rescued three overdue mariners 63 nautical miles west of Abaiang Island on Tuesday.

Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu was notified by Rescue Coordination Center Fiji at 3:05 p.m. Sunday that a 17-foot wooden boat with three men aboard was overdue. The boat had left Nawerewere Village, Tarawa, bound west of Abaiang Island to fish.

The Coast Guard sent an HC-130 Hercules aircrew from Air Station Barbers Point more than 2,500 nautical miles to search. The three had been missing for more than 80 hours.

The HC-130 crew located them within 40 minutes of reaching a search area of more than 5,600 square nautical miles, then vectored Natinteraoi to recover all three people and their boat. The mariners were transported back to Betio, Tarawa.