Two missing Spaniards found alive after 10 days at sea: ministry

Four people, including two Spaniards, have been found alive after spending 10 days drifting at sea off the coast of Malaysia, the Spanish Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday.

They were reported to have been rescued by a Vietnamese fishing vessel and are said to be in good condition after an ordeal which saw an expected two-hour cruise turn into a 10-day ordeal.

Authorities had feared the worst for David Hernandez and Marta Miguel after they had taken a boat trip between the island of Balambangan and the district of Kudat with Tommy Lam, the owner of the holiday resort where they worked in the north of Malaysia, and another hotel employee on May 2.

However, the alarm was raised when they failed to arrive at their planned destination and a search was launched for their boat, which was described as a "12-15 meters long launch."

Fears for their safety further increased on May 8 when a fishing boat found the motor from the launch entangled in its nets and divers were dispatched to the area to look for possible wreckage.

Authorities had ruled out that the group had been kidnapped by pirates or by local extremist organization Abu Sayyaf and worked on the theory that the vessel had suffered a mechanical problem and been swept away by the strong currents in the region.

The Spanish Foreign Ministry said both Spaniards have spoken to the local Spanish Consul by telephone and that they will soon be reunited with their families, who had flown out from Spain. Endit