January 05, 2008	Saturday	Zilhaj 25, 1428

MOSCOW: A group of 11 Russian fishermen, feared dead for three months, were rescued by soldiers after surviving on rations in a defunct, far eastern military base, the Vesti 24 news channel reported on Friday.

The 11 men were rescued by Russian military after five of their members finally ventured from the base this week on the island of Kamtchatka, 8,000 kilometres east of Moscow, where they had been sheltering since October.

“They weren’t discouraged. Armed with a map, they went 30 kilometres before meeting up with soldiers. They were lucky,” Alexei Sivolap, Kamtchatka regional head at the Ministry for Emergency Situations told the news channel.

The group found shelter at the base after being hit by bad weather during an October 10 fishing trip off Kamtchatka. They lived for weeks on flour and other food reserves, trapped in the frigid, volcanic area because of adverse weather.—AFP