Crew overpower Somali pirates

2007-10-30 19:27

Nairobi - The crew of a ship hijacked off the Somali coast overpowered their attackers and regained control of the vessel, officials said on Tuesday.

About two dozen crew members of the North Korea-flagged vessel were able to fight off the eight gunmen who had seized the vessel late on Monday, and the crew was piloting the ship back to the war-battered city's port in Mogadishu, said Andrew Mwangura, spokesperson of the Seafarers Assistance Program, which independently monitors piracy in the region.

He said first reports that the vessel was from South Korea were incorrect, and that the crew numbered about 22, instead of nearly twice that number as earlier reported.

- SAPA