Pirates 'looking after' kidnapped yacht couple
Paul and Rachel Chandler
A British couple being held hostage by pirates said they were being looked after by their kidnappers.
Paul Chandler, 59, and his wife Rachel, 55, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were captured in the early hours of Friday when armed men boarded their yacht.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Chandler said: “We are being treated well.”
He told BBC News they were being fed but was clearly unable to speak freely.
When asked if he was in Somalia, he said: “I can’t answer that.”
He said he was not aware of any negotiations taking place with his captors.
Asked if he had a message for his family or the British government, he said: “Nothing I can say.”
In a separate interview with ITV News he described the terrifying moment “men with guns came aboard”.
“I was off watch. I was asleep and men with guns came aboard. It was on Friday last week at 0230,” he said.
ITV News managed to speak to Mr Chandler shortly before 11am yesterday.
At the time of that call, Mr Chandler said the couple were being held “hostage” a mile off the coast of Somalia on the Kota Wajar, a container ship which was hijacked in the Indian Ocean on October 15.
It is now believed they have been taken to a village in Somalia and British officials are trying to secure their release.
The family of the kidnapped couple said they were expecting to receive a demand for money in return for their safe return.
Mrs Chandler’s brother, Stephen Collett, told BBC News: “The problem is they are not rich people.
“Most of the money is tied up with their yacht and other communications equipment which is on board the yacht.”
He said the Lynn Rival was not a luxury yacht, describing it as “a very basic sailing vessel”.
During the phone call to ITV, Mr Chandler said the couple were forced to sail towards Somalia after their boat was captured.
His captors had not asked for a ransom, Mr Chandler said, “not officially - they kept asking for money and took everything of value on the boat”.
Mr Collett, 58, and his wife Christine, 52, of Ixworth, Suffolk, were among family members who met Somali prime minister Omar Sharmarke in London on Wednesday.
He said Mr Sharmarke told him pirates looked after hostages well as “they see them as trade goods and want to keep them so they can barter”.
Mr Sharmarke said his government would use its influence on local communities to try to resolve the situation peacefully, once the couple’s whereabouts was known.
Fisherman Dahir Dabadhahan said two boats carrying the Chandlers arrived in the village of Ceel Huur, near the pirate stronghold Harardhere, early on Thursday.
He said a convoy of about 30 other pirates in six luxury vehicles met the group as fishermen looked on.
“The pirates opened fire into the air, waving us to move away,” he said.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged the pirates to release the couple.
“Piracy and the taking of hostages is unacceptable in any circumstances,” he said.
“We call on those people who have taken the British citizens hostage to release them as soon as possible.
“They should abide by international law.”
It was first feared the couple were in trouble when an alarm signal was sent from their yacht, the Lynn Rival, on Friday.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed yesterday the yacht had been found empty.
“During counter-piracy operations overnight, a Royal Navy ship encountered the yacht owned by Paul and Rachel Chandler,” said a spokesman.
“It was found in international waters.
“Paul and Rachel Chandler were not on board the yacht and we do not have any reason to believe they have been harmed.”
Mr Chandler and his wife, an economist, disappeared after sailing from the Seychelles towards Tanzania.
The couple, who took early retirement about three years ago, have spent several six-month spells at sea, returning home for brief visits.
