Somali pirates let UK couple reunite
Source: Agencies |
March 9, 2010, Tuesday
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A BRITISH yachting couple seized by Somali pirates and held in separate locations have been temporarily reunited after weeks apart, a doctor who treated the two said.
Paul and Rachel Chandler were suffering from severe anxiety brought on by their separation and captivity in war-ravaged Somalia, Dr Abdi Mohamed Elmi Hangul said during an interview at Medina Hospital on Sunday.
The two were seized from their yacht, the Lynn Rival, in October and have been held apart for most of their captivity. Hangul said the pirates had phoned him on Sunday and said the couple had been temporarily reunited.
"The two hostages were in different locations but I advised the guys to reunite the couple, because both of them were worrying about their separation but they now told me that the two people have reunited already," he said.
Hangul treated the two hostages last month at the invitation of their kidnappers, in the camps where they were being held along the Somali coastline.
"The hostages are suffering from diseases ... Paul was suffering just pain and coughs and (Rachel) Chandler was suffering from mental disorders, especially restlessness, palpitations and she was very anxious, because she was worrying about the separation with her husband," he said.
A Somali politician last week expressed hope that pressure from Somalis in the diaspora could lead to the two being freed without a ransom being paid. But pirates have rarely, if ever, freed a vessel and crew without a payment.
The Chandlers' captors have repeatedly said they will not free the two without a ransom - money the family says it does not have. The British government says it does not pay ransoms to kidnappers.
The Chandlers are highest-profile of more than 130 sailors held captive on the Somali coast.
Paul and Rachel Chandler were suffering from severe anxiety brought on by their separation and captivity in war-ravaged Somalia, Dr Abdi Mohamed Elmi Hangul said during an interview at Medina Hospital on Sunday.
The two were seized from their yacht, the Lynn Rival, in October and have been held apart for most of their captivity. Hangul said the pirates had phoned him on Sunday and said the couple had been temporarily reunited.
"The two hostages were in different locations but I advised the guys to reunite the couple, because both of them were worrying about their separation but they now told me that the two people have reunited already," he said.
Hangul treated the two hostages last month at the invitation of their kidnappers, in the camps where they were being held along the Somali coastline.
"The hostages are suffering from diseases ... Paul was suffering just pain and coughs and (Rachel) Chandler was suffering from mental disorders, especially restlessness, palpitations and she was very anxious, because she was worrying about the separation with her husband," he said.
A Somali politician last week expressed hope that pressure from Somalis in the diaspora could lead to the two being freed without a ransom being paid. But pirates have rarely, if ever, freed a vessel and crew without a payment.
The Chandlers' captors have repeatedly said they will not free the two without a ransom - money the family says it does not have. The British government says it does not pay ransoms to kidnappers.
The Chandlers are highest-profile of more than 130 sailors held captive on the Somali coast.
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