The government does not know who is holding two South Africans whose yacht was hijacked last week by pirates off Somalia, or where they are being held, the foreign ministry said on Friday.
“At this point in time we do not know where they are. We have instructed our consulate to handle the matter,” foreign ministry spokesperson Malusi Mogale said.
Mogale said his office did not know who was holding the couple.
The pair were on their way to Richards Bay on South Africa’s north-east coast, according to a spokesperson for the Bluff Yacht Club in Durban where they are members.
The European Union’s anti-piracy mission, EU Navfor, said the two crew members were taken ashore by the pirates after their yacht was hijacked in the Indian Ocean.
A third South African, a skipper of the yacht on the which couple was sailing, was rescued from the vessel and has returned home.
In a statement released on Monday, EU Navfor said the yacht had drawn the attention of a French frigate on Saturday because it was “suspiciously close to shore” off the coast of Somalia.
When the French warship launched a boarding team to investigate, it came under fire from the yacht.
The EU vessel then received a Mayday call that pirates were on board and that the crew of three were under their control.
The French ship continued to monitor the yacht and saw it run aground near the shore early on Sunday.
The skipper had refused to leave the yacht, and the pirates left with the remaining two crew members as hostage, said the mission. — AFP