Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-24
By: Wendy Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
Twenty-six Asian sailors released after being held hostage for nearly five years in a small fishing village 
in Somalia arrived in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya on Sunday.
The crew of the Naham 3, including nationals from Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam, were the second-longest held hostages by Somali pirates, who hijacked their fishing vessel and held them captive in March 2012 in Dabagala, Somalia, about 400 kilometers northeast of the capital Mogadishu, an area known to be frequented by pirates.
The pirates on Saturday morning handed over the group to Somali authorities in the northern town of 
Galkayo after 18 months of negotiations.
“They have spent over four and a half years in deplorable conditions away from their families,” said John Steed, one of the main negotiators working with the Hostage Support Partner, according to an AFP report.
Among the 29 hostages, one had died during the hijacking and two more “succumbed to illness” during their captivity, said Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) in a statement. [FULL STORY]
