Paul Chandler and Rachel, the two adventurous British couple who were sailing from Seychelles to Tanzania have been taken hostage by Somali Pirates. The confirmation came from the yachtsman Chandler himself. He spoke to ITV News from the captain’s cabin of the ship where they are being held.

Somali pirates have become worst nightmares for sailors in recent times and they seem to be growing in numbers too. The couple is being held hostage on Singapore based vessel which was taken over by pirates’ couple of weeks ago and there are reports that they have captured another Thai based boat with 25 Russians abroad. Experts have cast doubts about Russians being kidnapped and it doesn’t seem pirates are sparing any nationality and everyone has to pay ransom for release and passage.

UK government is putting in all effort to release 55 year old Paul Chandler and 50 year old Rachel. Their abandoned yacht was found a week ago and apparently everything valuable on board had been taken by pirates. The return of pirates, kidnapping, hijacking and ransom are true markers of the difficult and desperate times. While there seem to be no ending to it all, one can only hope that lives of sailors will be spared and they return home to safety.

Via Guardian