5 Pirates Drown With Share of $3 Million Ransom a Day After Freeing Saudi Tanker
www.washingtonpost.com
By Mohamed Olad Hassan
Associated Press Sunday,
January 11, 2009; Page A15
MOGADISHU, Somalia, Jan. 10 -- Five of the pirates who hijacked a Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a $3 million ransom, a relative said Saturday, the day after the bundle of cash was apparently dropped by parachute onto the deck of the ship.
The Sirius Star and its 25 crew members sailed safely away Friday at the end of a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden, where pirates attacked more than 100 ships last year. Hundreds more kidnapped sailors remain in the hands of pirates. The drowned pirates' boat overturned in rough seas, and family members were still looking for four bodies, said Daud Nure, another pirate who knew the men involved.
Piracy is one of the few ways to make money in Somalia. Half the population is dependent on aid, and a whole generation has grown up amid war. A recent report by London's Chatham House research group said pirates raked in more than $30 million in ransom last year.
By Mohamed Olad Hassan
Associated Press Sunday,
January 11, 2009; Page A15
MOGADISHU, Somalia, Jan. 10 -- Five of the pirates who hijacked a Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a $3 million ransom, a relative said Saturday, the day after the bundle of cash was apparently dropped by parachute onto the deck of the ship.
The Sirius Star and its 25 crew members sailed safely away Friday at the end of a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden, where pirates attacked more than 100 ships last year. Hundreds more kidnapped sailors remain in the hands of pirates. The drowned pirates' boat overturned in rough seas, and family members were still looking for four bodies, said Daud Nure, another pirate who knew the men involved.
Piracy is one of the few ways to make money in Somalia. Half the population is dependent on aid, and a whole generation has grown up amid war. A recent report by London's Chatham House research group said pirates raked in more than $30 million in ransom last year.
posted by Timalantoo | 1/11/2009 02:08:00 AM
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