Relatives of yacht hijack pair fear worst
Wednesday October 28 2009
RELATIVES of a British couple whose yacht is thought to have been hijacked by pirates off the east coast of Africa yesterday said they feared the "worst might have happened".
A rescue mission was under way to locate Paul and Rachel Chandler, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, after they went missing while sailing from the Seychelles towards Tanzania.
A news agency said it had been contacted yesterday by a pirate to say the couple were "in our hands now".
The man, who gave his name as Hassan, said the captives were in good health and ransom demands would follow.
The Foreign Office said it was "urgently investigating" the claims. "We are urgently investigating reports that Paul and Rachel's yacht has been seized and they are now being held captive," said a spokeswoman.
Leah Mickleborough, the couple's niece, said the family were alerted to an alarm signal made from the couple's yacht, the Lynn Rival, last Friday but initially thought the situation was not serious.
"We were just waiting for them to come into docks because it tended to be the case that, out in the middle of the Indian Ocean, it was quite difficult to get hold of them and it was expected that they would dock at a little island."
Ms Mickleborough, who last saw the couple five weeks ago when they attended her wedding, said sailing was their passion.
"They are not naive. They are very experienced in these things. They are not the sort of people who would put themselves deliberately in danger."
She added: "All of us as a family are extremely upset by what has happened. We are extremely distressed and it's such an emotional thing and such a horrible thing to be experiencing.
The route would have taken Mr and Mrs Chandler, aged 58 and 55, near Somali waters, notorious for pirate attacks.
Irish Independent
