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| Africa Horn |
| British couple held hostage by pirates freed, reports |
| 2010-11-15 |
| (KUNA) -- A British couple held for more than a year by Somali pirates have been freed after a ransom was paid, reports said Sunday. Paul and Rachel Chandler, who were seized in October last year while sailing from the Seychelles towards Tanzania, were "tired but happy" after being handed over to local officials in Adado, Somalia, Sky News said. The couple, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, near London, are reportedly being flown to Nairobi in Kenya where they will be transferred to the British High Commission. Chandler's brother, Stephen Collett, said: "We are very pleased at the news. " Their release was also being reported by some other media organisations. TV footage on Sky News showed the Chandlers, aged 60 and 57 respectively, walking unaided in Adado. The mayor of the town, Mohamed Aden, told Sky News that he received the couple and gave them some breakfast. He said: "They were tired but happy - I am very, very happy. "We gave them a cold shower, we gave them a breakfast. "Then we showed them to the community, and the community showed them they are sorry about what happened. "They apologised for the treatment they were subjected to in our neighbourhood." A Somali physician who saw them, Dr Mohamed Elmi Hangul, also said: "Aside from the deep emotional and psychological abuse they endured over the past 13 months, they are doing relatively well." Reports suggest that a ransom of up to one million dollars (620,000 pounds) was paid to secure the couple's release. The money is said to have come from a mixture of private investors and the hapless Somali government. The British Government's policy is not to pay ransom demands. The Foreign Office has not yet commented on the reports. The Chandlers' release ends a 388-day ordeal which began on October 23 last year when their 38ft yacht was stormed by gunnies. The Chandlers themselves made a series of appeals for help during television interviews permitted by the pirates. |
| Posted by:Fred |