Hijacked Americans 'killed by captors' off Somalia

BBC News, 22 February 2011

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Four Americans hijacked by Somali pirates off the coast of Oman have been killed by their captors, US defence officials say.

Scott and Jean Adam first set sail on the 58-foot
craft in 2002

The US military said its forces trailing the vessel had responded to gunfire heard aboard but found all the captives shot when they arrived.

The yacht S/V Quest, hijacked on Friday, was owned and sailed by Scott and Jean Adam of California.

Also killed were two US passengers, Phyllis Mackay and Bob Riggle.

'Shot by captors'

In a statement, US Central Command said that negotiations were under way between the US Navy and the pirates, when the US forces heard gunfire coming from the Quest about 0600GMT.

They boarded the ship, killing two pirates in the process, and discovered the four Americans shot. The US Navy sailors attempted to provide first aid but the hostages died, the military said.

"As they responded to the gunfire, reaching and boarding the Quest, the forces discovered all four hostages had been shot by their captors," Gen James Mattis of US Central Command Commander said in a statement.

"We express our deepest condolences for the innocent lives callously lost aboard the Quest," the statement added.

The US Navy captured 13 pirates, and found the remains of two other pirates already dead about the vessel, the US military said.

The US Navy said it had been closely monitoring the vessel once it learned it had been hijacked, sending four warships to the area.

According to the Adams's website, the middle-aged couple set sail in 2002 on the 58-foot vessel, and in 2004 they embarked on a planned eight- to 10-year voyage around the world.

Before their capture, the sailors had crossed the Indian Ocean from Cochin, India, after calling at Phuket, Thailand and Sri Lanka. They hoped to disembark in Djibouti, then cross the Suez Canal before sailing to Crete in April.

Friends have described the Adams as adventure-seekers who were also driven by their Christian faith, at times distributing bibles at ports of call.

Robert Johnston, who taught Scott Adam at Fuller Seminary in California, described the Adams as accomplished sailors.

"They were responsible planners, they knew there was the potential for problems and they tried to take precautions, but obviously something happened," he said before the group were reported killed.

There are currently about 30 boats captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia, a total of more than 600 people being held hostage, according to the US Navy.

Pirate attacks

Somalia has had no functioning central government since 1991, allowing piracy to flourish off its coast.

Somali pirates have made millions of dollars in recent years by capturing cargo vessels in the shipping lanes around the Horn of Africa and holding the ships and crew for ransom.

A recent US study found that maritime piracy costs the global economy between $7bn (£4.4bn) and $12bn (£7.6bn) a year.

The US has gained recent experienced prosecuting pirates in civilian courts.

Last week, a Somali man who pleaded guilty to a pirate attack on a US-flagged merchant ship was to more than 33 years in prison.

Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse is the only survivor of the crew of pirates who attacked the Maersk Alabama merchant ship off Somalia's coast in April 2009.

He was captured by the US Navy, whose sharpshooters killed three other pirates trying to escape on a lifeboat with the Alabama's American captain.

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Somali pirates seize yacht with four Americans onboard