Somali pirates seize yacht
Somali pirates have reportedly captured a yacht with a British man and woman aboard, with the aim of holding them to ransom. It is thought that they sent a distress signal last Friday, and there is no word of their whereabouts since then.
A pirate giving his name simply as Hassan told the news agency Reuters: “The British couple are in our hands now. We captured them as they were touring in the Indian Ocean.” He added that both the hostages are in good health, and that a ransom demand would follow.
Apparent confirmation comes from a Seychelles government source, who said an emergency distress signal from Paul and Rachel Chandler was picked up by the British coastguard towards the end of last week.
A final message on the couple’s blog posted at dawn on Friday morning read: “Please ring Sarah.” There has been no communication with the 38 ft yacht, Lynn Rival, since then.
Mr and Mrs Chandler, aged 58 and 55, are from Tunbridge Wells, England. Their 38 ft yacht Lynn Rival was known to be heading from Tanzania to the Seychelles.
Neither the Maritime and Coastguard Agency or the International Maritime Bureau were immediately available for comment. But Matthew Forbes, British High Commissioner to the Seychelles, told Reuters: “We are currently in touch with the family in the UK and the Seychelles coastguard who continue to monitor the situation and has conducted a search of the area.”
A diplomatic source said the Seychelles coastguard had launched a search operation on Friday but there had been no confirmed sighting of the vessel.
A sailors’ forum on the internet quoted the US National Intelligence Agency as saying the distress signal was picked up at 0133 GMT on Friday and that the vessel was 60 nautical miles west of Victoria, the Seychelles’ capital. However, this information has not been officially confirmed.
Somali pirates have captured yachtsmen and women on previous occasions. In April this year, a French military operation to free a yacht with five French hostages on board backfired when one of the hostages was killed during the rescue bid. Two pirates also died, and three others were taken prisoner.
A pirate giving his name simply as Hassan told the news agency Reuters: “The British couple are in our hands now. We captured them as they were touring in the Indian Ocean.” He added that both the hostages are in good health, and that a ransom demand would follow.
Apparent confirmation comes from a Seychelles government source, who said an emergency distress signal from Paul and Rachel Chandler was picked up by the British coastguard towards the end of last week.
A final message on the couple’s blog posted at dawn on Friday morning read: “Please ring Sarah.” There has been no communication with the 38 ft yacht, Lynn Rival, since then.
Mr and Mrs Chandler, aged 58 and 55, are from Tunbridge Wells, England. Their 38 ft yacht Lynn Rival was known to be heading from Tanzania to the Seychelles.
Neither the Maritime and Coastguard Agency or the International Maritime Bureau were immediately available for comment. But Matthew Forbes, British High Commissioner to the Seychelles, told Reuters: “We are currently in touch with the family in the UK and the Seychelles coastguard who continue to monitor the situation and has conducted a search of the area.”
A diplomatic source said the Seychelles coastguard had launched a search operation on Friday but there had been no confirmed sighting of the vessel.
A sailors’ forum on the internet quoted the US National Intelligence Agency as saying the distress signal was picked up at 0133 GMT on Friday and that the vessel was 60 nautical miles west of Victoria, the Seychelles’ capital. However, this information has not been officially confirmed.
Somali pirates have captured yachtsmen and women on previous occasions. In April this year, a French military operation to free a yacht with five French hostages on board backfired when one of the hostages was killed during the rescue bid. Two pirates also died, and three others were taken prisoner.