Hijack ship hostages freed after four months

A group of 25 sailors held hostage by Somali pirates since April have been freed, a South Korean official said today.

The hostages – including eight South Koreans, nine Indonesians, five Vietnamese and three Chinese – have been released and were in international waters, a South Korean official in Africa said.

The group were on their way to Mombasa, Kenya, he added.

It was not immediately clear whether a South Korean company operating the hijacked ship had paid a ransom to the militants, who had claimed they were defending their waters from illegal fishing.

The militants had said they would first investigate how long the South Korean boat had been involved in illegal fishing before deciding whether to demand compensation.

South Korea had said the pirates seized the vessel in international waters and later took it into Somalia’s waters.