The Danish command and support warship Esbern Snare was involved in an exchange of fire with a pirate mother ship last week which ended in the liberation of 16 Iranian hostages, the deaths of four pirates and the arrest of 24 others, according to Admiral Fleet Denmark (SOK) in a statement over the weekend.
“During a patrol along Somalia’s coast on the morning of Thursday May 12, Esbern Snare approached a pirate mother ship. When Esbern Snare attempted to stop the mother ship it was fired on. Esbern Snare returned fire,” Admiral Fleet Denmark (SOK) said in its release.
It added Esbern Snare units had found 16 Iranian hostages and 28 suspected pirates on board the pirate mother ship as well as weapons and other pirate related material.
Four of the suspected pirates were killed in the action. Ten others were wounded, five of them seriously, with the wounded currently being treated on board the Esbern Snare. None of the Esbern Snare’s units were injured in the action.
SOK said the four who were killed in the exchange of fire had been buried at sea in keeping with Muslim tradition and NATO standing orders. The pirate mother ship had been sunk.
“There are now 40 extra people on board the Esbern Snare and the suspected pirates are being questioned. It will then be up to the authorities to decide if it is possible to prosecute them,” says SOK Press Officer Kenneth Nielsen.
Esbern Snare officers are also determining the identities and details of the Iranian hostages.
“They are very, very happy. They were ecstatic. It is a heavy burden to be a hostage for months – sometimes up to a year,” Nielsen says.
No comments:
Post a Comment