Five people rescued in Kiribati after three months at sea

Two children and three adults have been found alive after drifting at sea for months.

The group set off on the routine journey between the islands of Murilo and Ruo in the Federated States of Miconesia on July 30, before being caught in a storm.

Villagers on Fanning Island in Kiribati spotted the group on Sunday.

Five people, including two children, have been found alive after drifting an estimated 5,400 kilometres to a remote island in Kiribati, about three months after their boat went missing in Micronesia.

They were part of a group of nine who set off on July 30 on what was meant to be a routine one-hour crossing between the islands of Murilo and Ruo, in the Federated States of Micronesia, when they were caught in a storm.

The US Coast Guard in Micronesia suspended its search on August 9 after 10 days, covering 25,000 nautical miles with the help of US Navy and Air Force aircraft.

On Sunday, villagers on Fanning Island in Kiribati spotted the drifting boat and rescued the five people on board.

The member of parliament for the area, Kaotitaake Rakoroa, said they were taken in and cared for by the pastor of the local Uniting Church.

He said police on Kiritimati Island, the closest urban centre to Fanning Island, relayed news of the rescue to him in the capital, Tarawa.

"The group has already been treated by our medical officials on the island," he said.

He recommended they take the earliest flight to Kiritimati Island for further medical treatment.

Photos and videos of the five were posted online on Sunday, shortly after they were brought ashore.

The members of the group are yet to speak publicly about their ordeal and have asked for their privacy to be respected. Family members in the Federated States of Micronesia told the ABC they have been in contact with some of the group.

Chuuk State Governor Alexander Narruhn issued a statement on Sunday evening thanking God for their survival.

"There were nine people aboard the boat that went missing. Thanks be to God for his love and mercy that five of the nine people have been found.

"We continue to pray for their four companions."

Details of what happened to the other four people have not been revealed.

The governor said he had asked the Federated States of Micronesia's president to begin diplomatic talks with the Kiribati government to bring the survivors home.

The rescue is the latest of several in Kiribati waters.

Last week, 18-year-old Luka Rahan from Bougainville in Papua New Guinea was rescued between the islands of Tarawa and Maiana after drifting for 41 days. His cousin died during the ordeal.

The pair had set out on a fishing trip in northern Bougainville in September, but had engine trouble and drifted more than 2,000km to Kiribati.

Last month, three other Bougainvilleans returned home after drifting at sea for about 70 days. They were found near Kiritimati Island.