British couple freed by Somali pirates

Published on Sunday 14 November 2010 12:08

A British couple held for more than a year by Somali pirates have been freed after a ransom was paid.

• Paul and Rachel Chandler after their release from Somali pirates

Paul and Rachel Chandler, who were seized in October last year while sailing from the Seychelles towards Tanzania, were said to be "tired but happy" after being handed over to local officials in Adado, Somalia, according to Sky News.

The couple, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, are reportedly being flown to Nairobi in Kenya where they will be transferred to the British High Commission.

Mrs Chandler's brother, Stephen Collett, said: "We are very pleased at the news."

The couple had been sailing around the world on their yacht, the Lynn Rival, for several years when they left the Seychelles for Tanzania on October 22.

Their route took them near Somali waters notorious for pirate attacks on ships and smaller boats.

After their seizure, the pirates demanded a seven million dollar (4.35m) ransom demand, but that figure is thought to have dropped towards the one million dollar mark.

The Chandlers have made a series of appeals through television interviews that were carefully controlled by the pirates.

In November last year they appeared on Channel 4 News to say their captors were "losing patience" and that they could be killed within a week.

Their last appearance came in May this year, Mr Chandler called on the new coalition Government to make a statement on whether or not it will assist the couple.

He said: "I would like to say 'congratulations' to David Cameron first. As the new Prime Minister we desperately need him to make a definitive public statement of the Government's attitude to us.

"If the Government can help, and I think they should, then we would welcome that and would they please do so.

"But either way they must make a statement so that we know where we stand."

The Foreign Office said it was sticking to the UK Government's policy of "not making or facilitating substantive concessions to hostage-takers, including the payment of ransoms, is long-standing and clear".

TV footage on Sky News showed Mr and Mrs Chandler, 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 told Middle Eastern broadcaster Al Jazeera: "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) was paid to secure the couple's release.

The money is said to have come from a mixture of private investors and the Somali government. The British Government's policy is not to pay ransom demands.

The Foreign Office has not yet commented on the reports.