4 Indonesian seamen kidnapped by Somali pirates return home
The men were among 17 crew rescued a week ago when maritime police stormed the Palau-flagged MT Honour 25 tanker that was hijacked in April
Four Indonesian seamen who were kidnapped and held hostage by Somali pirates aboard an oil tanker for more than five months arrived back home on Tuesday, an Agence France-Presse reporter saw.
The men were among 17 crew rescued a week ago when maritime police from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in northern Somalia stormed the Palau-flagged MT Honour 25 tanker that was hijacked in April.
Before the vessel could be recaptured, the pirates had already killed five crew members – three Pakistanis, an Indian and a Myanmar national – according to a Puntland police statement.
The four Indonesians were received at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport by their families and officials including Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir.
