tagged w/ Paul and Rachel Chandler
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The crew of a Royal Navy vessel was forced to watch a British couple being kidnapped by pirates, it has been revealed.
Military officials insisted the crew members could not have acted without endangering the lives of Paul Chandler, 59, and his wife, Rachel, 55.
There were 75 merchant seamen and 25 Royal Navy sailors aboard the Royal Fleet Auxiliary replenishment tanker Wave Knight.
The Chandlers, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were seized in the early hours of October 23 when armed Somali pirates boarded their yacht, the Lynn Rival.
They were heading from the Seychelles towards Tanzania.
The couple were forced to change course to Somalia before being put on a container ship, the Kota Wajar, which had also been taken by the pirates.
They are since thought to have been brought ashore.
It has now emerged the Wave Knight, which was carrying a helicopter, was close by as the drama unfolded.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Every effort was made by the Royal Navy and the international maritime fleet to locate the Lynn Rival.
"We did everything we could possibly do without further endangering the lives of Paul and Rachel Chandler.
"We do not comment on operational detail but RFA Wave Knight did very well under the circumstances."
Sources said the vessel's first responsibility was to ensure the Chandlers' lives were not put at further risk.
Initial reports had suggested their yacht was found empty in open waters.
Within days of their capture, pirates issued a £4.2m ransom demand.
In response the Foreign Office said the Government would not make any "substantive concessions to hostage-takers, and that includes the payment of ransom".
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Somali-Pirate-Kidnapping-Of-Paul-And-Rachel-Chandler-Navy-Crew-On-Wave-Knight-Witnessed-Drama/Article/200911215453366?lpos=UK_News_Carousel_Region_3&lid=ARTICLE_15453366_Somali_Pirate_Kidnapping_Of_Paul_And_Rachel_Chandler%3A_Navy_Crew_On_Wave_Knight_Witnessed_DramaThe crew of a Royal Navy vessel was forced to watch a British couple being kidnapped... more
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xiola
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added this
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2 years ago
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