Somali pirates release couple

SOMALI pirates released British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler yesterday, more than a year after gunmen kidnapped them aboard their yacht near the Seychelles archipelago.

The couple were handed to local officials in a central Somali town after a ransom was paid. They were flown to the capital Mogadishu to meet the Somali prime minister and then to neighbouring Kenya, where they arrived yesterday afternoon.

“We are fine; rather skinny and bony, but we are fine. We were told on Friday in a way which gave us some confidence. But otherwise, we’ve been told we are going to be released almost every 10 days,” Paul Chandler told BBC television.