Somali Pirates Demand $7M Ransom for UK Couple

'We are well,' Paul Chandler says by phone

(NEWSER) - A British couple taken from their yacht by Somali pirates say they’re in good condition and are being held aboard a hijacked container ship. “We are well and being looked after OK,” Paul Chandler, 59, told the BBC by phone today; he also spoke to British channel ITN, saying the pirates had come aboard early last Friday morning as he and wife Rachel, 55, slept. More»

Retired Brits spent year held captive by Somali thugs

(NEWSER) - The retired British couple who was released yesterday after a year held hostage by pirates who seized them as they sailed the ocean in their yacht opened up about their ordeal, saying one of their most difficult parts was being severely beaten when they refused to be separated during their captivity. "We were really distraught, we were very frightened at that point," said Rachel Chandler, 56. She and her husband were held in harsh conditions in intense heat in Somalia throughout their captivity. Paul Chandler said the two were still relatively healthy, though "rather skinny and bony," reports the BBC . More»

'We're very happy to be alive,' Rachel Chandler says

(NEWSER) - After being held captive more than a year on their 38-foot yacht in the Indian Ocean, Somali pirates have set free a British couple early today, ending one of the longest hostage situations off East Africa. Paul and Rachel Chandler appeared thin but relaxed in a small ceremony in their honor, reports the AP, with Rachel Chandler saying simply: "We are happy to be alive." More»

Death looms without ransom

(NEWSER) - A British couple abducted by pirates as they sailed off Africa are pleading for help before they're killed. Rachel Chandler, seized three months ago and held separately from her husband, Paul, in Somalia, begged for aid in a phone call to British TV after the pirates vowed to kill them soon. "They've lost patience. They've set a deadline of 4 days. If they don't hear then, they say they will let us die," she said. "My biggest hope is that I shall see Paul at least once more before we die." More»

(NEWSER) - Somali pirates holding an American ship captain hostage say they want a $2 million ransom and have threatened to kill him, Reuters and the AP report. The ransom demand followed an escape attempt by Richard Phillips, who attempted to swim for safety early this morning. Reports conflict on what happened next—either a pirate jumped in after him and hauled him back, or Phillips returned after one of the captors fired an automatic weapon. More»