A British couple kidnapped by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean said in afilm broadcast on Friday their captors were losing patience and that they feared they would be killed within a week.
Shown flanked by gunmen, in the first such footage since they were taken on October 23, Paul and Rachel Chandler said they had been provided with adequate food and water and were in reasonable physical health, but their lives were under threat.
The pirates have demanded a $7-million ransom for the couple, both in their 50s, who were kidnapped while they sailed their 12m yacht Lynn Rival in international waters north of the Seychelles.
It is believed they are being held close to the coastal Somali town of Haradheere.
”Our kidnappers are losing patience, they are concerned that there has been no response at all to their demands for money,” Paul said in the footage, shown on Channel 4 news.
”I have no doubt they will not hesitate to kill us, perhaps within a week or so of now if there is no response. So please somebody get in touch otherwise we just sleepwalk to a tragic ending,” he added, visibly choking up.
His wife added: ”We are told we will not be fed and given water so we are very concerned about our future.”
The pirate gangs — some made up of former fishermen angered by the presence of foreign fishing fleets in Somali waters — and their backers in Somalia and abroad have made tens of millions of dollars in ransoms, usually by seizing cargo ships.
In the video, which was filmed on Wednesday, the Chandlers said they had been told they were also under threat from a Somali terrorist cell which is hunting for them.
The British Foreign Office said they were aware of the film.
”Any such video will be distressing for the family,” it said in a statement.
”The UK government’s policy is clear: we do not make substantive concessions to hostage takers, including the payment of ransoms. These are innocent tourists. We seek the immediate release of Paul and Rachel.”
Pirates have plagued the busy shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia for several years. Foreign warships from 16 nations are patrolling the area to try to prevent hijacks, but pirates still prey on ships far out in the Indian Ocean. – Reuters