Media reports suggest that the two South Africans held by Somali pirates, Bruno Pelizzari and Deborah Calitz, have been released. Accorting to reports, the announcement was made by Somalia’s Defence Minister who stated that the pair were at the presidential palace in the capital.
Pelizzari and Calitz were taken hostage when the yacht they were on, the SY Choizil, was hijacked in 2010. Their captors originally demanded a ransom of $10 million. ”Today we are happy to get our freedom back,” Bruno Pelizzari told Reuters.
It is not known how they were freed or whether a ransom was paid.
This article was posted by Neptune Maritime Security. MaritimeSecurity.Asia in cooperation with www.neptunemaritimesecurity.com
