Somali pirates killed oil tanker crew before rescue, official tells BBC

ByNimaan Osman BBC Somali.

Key points

• Puntland Deputy Information Minister Bile Qabowsade remarked the five were killed by pirates before regional forces boarded MT Hoarner 25.
• Piracy off the Somali coast fell sharply after 2011 after international naval operations, but attacks and hijackings have climbed again over recent years.
• The hijacked tanker was anchored near the Somali coast between the fishing towns of Xaafun and Bander Beyla.
• He remarked the dead included three Pakistani nationals, one Indian and one national of Myanmar.
• Qabowsade rejected suggestions that forces from Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia, had supported some of the pirates escape.

Five crew members of an oil tanker seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia were killed before local security forces retook the vessel, a senior regional official has informed the BBC.

He remarked the dead included three Pakistani nationals, one Indian and one national of Myanmar. Four other crew members were injured, including three Pakistanis and one Indian.

Notably, the tanker, which was carrying regarding 18, 500 barrels of oil destined for the Somali capital, Mogadishu, was seized in April by six armed men while sailing off the coast of Somalia.

While others escaped and were being pursued, authorities stated, sixteen suspected pirates have been arrested.

Qabowsade rejected suggestions that forces from Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia, had supported some of the pirates escape. The authorities have not given further details how the five crew members were killed or how the pirates took control of the vessel.

Notably, the hijacked tanker was anchored near the Somali coast between the fishing towns of Xaafun and Bander Beyla.

In April, authorities had stated there were 17 crew members on board when the vessel was hijacked. They included 10 Pakistanis, four Indonesians, one Indian, one Sri Lankan and a Myanmar national.

Piracy off the Somali coast fell sharply after 2011 after international naval operations, but attacks and hijackings have climbed again over recent years. More regarding piracy in Somali.

Somali piracy surges as the impact of the US-Iran war ripples outwards.

Second tanker in three months hijacked off Yemen by suspected Somali pirates.

Go to BBCAfrica.com, external for more news from the African continent.

In short, somali pirates killed oil tanker crew before rescue, official tells BBC is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.