Yacht crew arrives in Djibouti
2008-04-14 12:30
Djibouti - The crew of a luxury yacht held for a week by Somali pirates on Monday arrived in Djibouti under French military escort.
The former hostages, who were to fly on to Paris, were transferred by helicopter to the small Horn of Africa country, where France had its largest overseas military base.
Le Ponant's 30 crew - 22 French, six Filipinos, a Cameroonian and a Ukrainian - were freed on Friday after a dramatic raid by French commandos.
Six hostage-takers were arrested as they tried to escape in a 4x4 vehicle, having gone ashore after releasing the crew members of the three-masted yacht for a ransom.
Somali officials and witnesses said three people were killed during the French operation, but the military in Paris denied any pirates were killed.