RESCUED “VEGA 5” CREW MEMBERS RETURN

The 12 Mozambican crew members of the fishing vessel the “Vega 5”, rescued from Somali pirates by the Indian navy in March, returned to their home city of Beira on Saturday, according to a report in Monday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”.The “Vega 5”, with a crew of 19 Mozambicans, three Indonesians and two Spaniards, was hijacked by pirates in the Mozambique Channel on 27 December. The pirates took it to Somalia, where it was modified to become a pirate “mother ship”, used for attacks against shipping in the Arabian Sea. An Indian fast attack craft, the “Kalpeni” fought a gun battle with the pirates on 12 March, during which the “Vega 5” caught fire. The Indian sailors rescued from the water 61 pirates and 13 “Vega 5” crew members (12 Mozambicans and one Indonesian). The other seven Mozambicans and two Indonesians are missing, feared dead. It is believed that the pirates are holding the two Spaniards somewhere in Somalia.The rescued Mozambicans returned to Beira after giving evidence to an Indian court against the pirates.Speaking to reporters at Beira Airport, one of the crew members, Monteiro Sanga, said that the “Vega 5” had been attacked by seven heavily armed pirates transported in two skiffs. The crew was forced at gunpoint to sail the “Vega 5” to Somalia, a trip that took 15 days.Once they were in Somalia, the pirates told them they were demanding a ransom of 20 million dollars from the governments of Mozambique, Spain and Indonesia (the Mozambican government, however, says it never received any ransom demand).The two Spaniards were kept in Somalia, Sango said, because Spain was the only country that showed an interest in ransoming its citizens.The Mozambicans were forced to remain on board the “Vega 5”, modified to provide more room for the pirate skiffs.As for the rescue, the crew members said that the pirates mistook the “Kalpeni” for a civilian vessel and the skiffs set out to attack it. “Suddenly we heard shots, and those who were aboard the skiffs all disappeared at seas. They must have died”, they said.A powerful weapon hit the “Vega 5”, and the survivors believe that it was in the ensuing confusion that the other crew members died. “We were lucky enough to be rescued by the Indians”, they said.Sofala provincial governor Carvalho Muaria, who went to the airport to greet the crew members, said it was a moment of both joy and of sadness – joy for the families of the 12 men who returned, but sadness for relatives of the seven who are still missing.