MAJURO - Seven Papua New Guineans adrift in the Pacific Ocean for more than two months have been rescued but two have since died, the captain of the vessel which picked them up said Tuesday.

A helicopter from the US-based fishing vessel "Ocean Encounter" spotted a 22-foot boat drifting near Nauru in the central Pacific on Sunday.

Seven men were onboard and told "Ocean Encounter" captain Ben Maughan they left Tabar Island in the New Ireland area of Papua New Guinea on September 14 to return home to Lihir Island, a distance of about 50 kilometres (30 miles).

But they ran out of fuel during what was expected to be a daytime trip and drifted to the northeast, Maughan said in a report to a shipping agent in the Marshall Islands.

"Ocean Encounter" was expected to arrive in Majuro, capital of the Marshall Islands, late Tuesday to get medical treatment for the survivors, who Maughan described as suffering from "overexposure and aggressive signs of malnutrition."

One of the rescued men died on board "Ocean Encounter" about five hours after the rescue Sunday and on Tuesday a second man died, according to Majuro-based Uliga Shipping Agency official Morton Enos.

An eighth passenger of the small boat, a 17-year-old, was washed overboard and lost at sea during a storm last Friday, Maughan reported the survivors as saying.

After being picked up, crew spoon-fed small amounts of water and a rice-and-water mix to the survivors because "their systems could only accept small amounts under their condition," Maughan said in a report to the shipping agent.

It was not immediately known what the men had to eat or drink during their two-month ordeal.

Maughan also reported that the survivors said they saw several fishing vessels during their two months at sea, but these "ignored their gestures (calling for) assistance."