Somali pirates yesterday freed British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler, ending an ordeal that started when their yacht was hijacked off the idyllic shores of the Seychelles a year ago.
The Chandlers arrived in Adado, a central Somali town near the Ethiopian border, after the pirates handed them over to the forces of the local self-proclaimed administration of Himan and Heeb.
The couple looked tired, but happy as they were given mobile phones to make calls to their relatives as soon as they entered the safety of the compound housing the administration headquarters.
The Chandlers were wearing the same clothes they have worn during most of their 388-day captivity and were invited to take a shower upon arriving at the compound of Himan and Heeb President Mohamed Aden “Tiiceey.”
“No, we were not well treated,” Rachel Chandler said, answering a question as she entered the compound.
She looked thin, but in no worse health than when a reporter visited them in captivity in January.
A deal was struck with the pirates last week and although no official involved in the negotiation spoke of a ransom, local elders in the region said the Chandlers were exchanged for money.
The couple were driven overnight from the central Somali town of Amara, around which they spent most of their captivity, to Adado.
The freed couple from Kent, England, were expected in the coming hours to fly out of Adado.
An elder had said on Saturday that the pirates had agreed to free the Chandlers following the payment of US$320,000 on top of US$400,000 already received during an aborted release attempt earlier this year.
Other elders said the total ransom may have reached close to US$1 million.
The British government has a strict policy of not paying any ransoms.
The money known to have been paid to the pirates, a considerably smaller amount than what their colleagues have been earning from shipowners for cargo, fishing and other vessels, is believed to have been gathered by the Chandler family and members of the Somali diaspora.
The pirates had initially demanded US$7 million.
The Chandlers were kidnapped on Oct. 23 last year, a day after leaving the Seychelles, where they had spent several weeks on holiday.
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