By By Sravanth Verma Dec 7, 2014 in Odd News Two fishermen from Papua New Guinea were rescued on November 29 after spending five months out at sea on a small, open boat in the Pacific Ocean. The two men from Lihir Island in the Ne Ireland province of Papua New Guinea set to sea in a motorboat in July, 2014, and it is thought that they drifted by over 1000 miles, and had to survive several storms while at sea. “We were convinced that everyone had given up looking for us,” According to Carl Apis, Assistant Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the Micronesia government, reported that the Salvation Army was housing the men for now and that the government of Papua New Guinea was working to contact their families and establish their identities. “We are glad to report that they are fine now,” Apis told Radio New Zealand. The men's ordeal is very similar to another such incident in early 2014, when Mexican fisherman Jose Alvarenga Michael Bolong, 54, and Ambros Wavut, 28, survived on raw fish and rainwater, and were rescued by the fishing vessel Yap Seagull, after many failed attempts at getting the attention of ships that had passed by, oblivious to them. Francis Dimansol, 48, a third member of the party had died of health complications while they were lost at sea. What became of the body is yet to be ascertained.The two men from Lihir Island in the Ne Ireland province of Papua New Guinea set to sea in a motorboat in July, 2014, and it is thought that they drifted by over 1000 miles, and had to survive several storms while at sea. “We were convinced that everyone had given up looking for us,” Bolong told crew members of the Yap Seagull. “We know from other instances of boats being lost that after a while searchers give up, convinced that no-one can survive after many weeks in an open boat. There is no doubt that after weeks, which turned into months, we were forgotten, except by our families,” he added.According to the Daily Mail , the two men are not fishermen but construction workers who were heading to an adjacent island.Carl Apis, Assistant Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the Micronesia government, reported that the Salvation Army was housing the men for now and that the government of Papua New Guinea was working to contact their families and establish their identities. “We are glad to report that they are fine now,” Apis told Radio New Zealand.The men's ordeal is very similar to another such incident in early 2014, when Mexican fisherman Jose Alvarenga survived 13 months in the Pacific before his boat washed up in the Marshall Islands. More about Rescue, open sea, ocean rescues More news from Rescue open sea ocean rescues