Somali pirates confirm hostages are a British couple

Somali pirates have confirmed they have seized a yacht with two Britons on-board. A pirate claiming to be connected to the group said: "The British couple are in our hands now. We captured them as they were touring in the Indian Ocean." He said the two captives were healthy and ransom demands would follow. Paul and Rachel Chandler were heading for Tanzania from the Seychelles in their 38ft yacht, the Lynn Rival, when they reportedly sent a distress signal. The sailing route is notorious for attacks on ships and smaller boats. The last message on their extensive travel blog was posted on Friday morning and reads simply: "Please ring Sarah." Two days earlier they wrote that they were saying farewell to the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean: "We probably won't have satellite phone coverage until we're fairly close to the African coast, so we may be out of touch for some time."

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ITN | October 27, 2009

Tags:. .fairly. .smaller. .extensive. .captured. .connected