British Couple Go Missing in Seychelles; Potential Pirate Involvement

A search has been mounted for two Brits who are believed to have been kidnapped by pirates whilst sailing their yacht in the Seychelles. Paul and Rachel Chandler, 58 and 55 respectively, were heading to Tanzania sailing their yacht, Lynn Rival, when they are believed to have been apprehended after sending out a distress signal.

The couple sent out a distress call on Friday, but have yet to be heard from since then. A BBC security correspondent told outlets that his sources indicated the couple had been taken to port of Haradheere in Somalia.

Meanwhile, Reuters news agency received a call from a pirate named Hassan claiming that he had the couple and that they had been captured while touring the Indian Ocean. He also told the press agency that the couple were alive and well, and the ransom demands would be made shortly.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said that the agency could not deny or confirm pirate involvement in the disappearance. The Seychelles Coast Guard have been brought in to continue to the search, who are currently unreachable via their satellite phone. A spokesman for them said they had heard rumors that pirates may be involved, but that at this point they have found no evidence of that.

According to Britain’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency the couple activated their distress signal at 2300 BST last Friday. At that point they were situated 150 nautical miles south-west of their final destination, the Amirante Islands. That route would have put the couple directly in the path of Somalia’s waters, which are infamous for their pirating problem.