Five abducted Indian sailors in Nigeria rescued |
Five Indian sailors who were abducted from a ship in Nigeria have been rescued after over two months in captivity, Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya said. Mandaviya said the seafarers from the vessel `MT Apecus` were kidnapped and taken ashore from the vessel in the outer anchorage off Bonny Island in Nigeria on April 19. “An Inter-Ministerial Group of Officers (IMGO) was set up by the government under the Ministry of Shipping to deal with potential maritime security situations arising out of any hijacking at sea of merchant`s vessels with Indian crew,” he said in a statement. The High Commission of India, Abuja, Nigeria conveyed the details of the incident to the Nigerian authorities after which the Nigerian Navy boarded the vessel to secure it as well as carry an investigation of the incident. Also, the Regional Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre (RMCC), Nigeria continued to assist in the matter, the statement added, “They are being brought to Port Harcourt under Nigerian police escort and our HC will safely repatriate them to India,” foreign minister Jaishankar said in a tweet.
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