French yacht rescue ends in gun battle with pirates

French troops rescued a kidnapped yachting couple in a gun battle killing one Somalian pirate and capturing six, it emerged today.

Jean-Yves and Bernadette Delanne, who had been held hostage for two weeks, were safe said President Nicolas Sarkozy’s office.

The president gave the order for the operation last night.

The Delannes were sailing a friend’s boat from Australia to France when they were captured a fortnight ago by pirates lying in wait in the Gulf of Aden.

Somalian pirates have become an increasing threat in the region, attacking both fishing and pleasure boats. French citizens have been a target several times.

Yesterday European Union foreign ministers agreed to set up a special unit to co-ordinate warship patrols off the coast of Somalia to protect shipping from pirates.

The Gulf of Aden has been a particularly sensitive region, the scene of most of the 54 pirate attacks this year off the coat of Somalia.

Yesterday pirates hijacked a Hong Kong chemical tanker with 22 crew. The tanker was en route to Asia and sailing in a maritime security corridor patrolled by an international naval force when it was attacked.

The EU ministers said the new warship unit to patrol off the coast of Somalia should be established within the next few days to co-ordinate “surveillance and protection activities”.

Several EU nations have sent warships to the coast of the east African nation to stop pirates who have been seizing yachts, freighters and fishing boats.