150 Castaways Rescued Off Newfoundland

Three Canadian fishing vessels rescued about 150 men, women and children who were found Monday afternoon adrift in two lifeboats in the Atlantic Ocean off Newfoundland, a Canadian coast guard spokesman reported.

“They were let off a ship,” the spokesman, Bruce Reid, said. “They are in good condition other than the fact they are a bit hungry.”

Canadian officials said reports indicated that the people in the lifeboats had been forced to abandon ship, but there were language problems and it was not known why. The name of the ship was not known.

He said the castaways may have come from Sri Lanka. He added that they told their rescuers they had spent five days in the lifeboats after leaving the ship.

A spokesman for the Sri Lankan Consulate in Ottawa said he had no information but added, “We are very skeptical as to whether they are Sri Lankans.”

Sri Lanka, an island off India’s southern tip, has been torn by a separatist revolt, and thousands of citizens have sought refuge abroad. At the Canadian Forces Center in Halifax, Maj. Bill Whitehead said the rescue operation began when a Canadian fishing vessel, the Atlantic Reaper, radioed Monday afternoon that it had spotted two large lifeboats.

It gave the location as six miles south of St. Shotts, which is on the southern tip of Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula.

Whitehead also said no distress calls had been received from any ships in the area.