OMM Redaksiyası
Five crew members of an oil tanker seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia were killed before local security forces regained control of the vessel, a senior regional official told the BBC.
Puntland Deputy Information Minister Bile Qabowsade said the five crew members were killed before regional forces boarded the MT Hoarner 25. The dead included three Pakistani nationals, one Indian national and one citizen of Myanmar.
Four other crew members were injured, including three Pakistanis and one Indian, Qabowsade said. Authorities have not provided further details about how the crew members were killed or how the pirates seized control of the tanker.
Sixteen suspected pirates arrested
The tanker, carrying about 18,500 barrels of oil bound for Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, was seized in April by six armed men while sailing off the Somali coast.
Sixteen suspected pirates have been arrested, officials said. Other suspects escaped and were being pursued.
Qabowsade rejected suggestions that Puntland forces, from Somalia’s semi-autonomous region, had helped some of the pirates flee.
The hijacked vessel was anchored near the Somali coast between the fishing towns of Xaafun and Bander Beyla.
Somali piracy rises after years of decline
Officials said in April that 17 crew members had been aboard the tanker when it was hijacked. They included 10 Pakistanis, four Indonesians, one Indian, one Sri Lankan and one Myanmar national.
Piracy off Somalia declined sharply after 2011 following international naval operations. However, attacks and hijackings have increased again in recent years.
