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Navy crew 'watched' pirate kidnap Royal Navy 'watched yacht hijack'
(21 minutes later)
The crew of a Royal Navy vessel watched as a British couple were taken hostage by Somali pirates, Whitehall officials have confirmed. The crew of a Royal Navy vessel watched as a British couple were taken hostage by Somali pirates but were ordered not to open fire, it has emerged.
The ship did not act for fear of getting the couple killed, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.
Paul and Rachel Chandler, aged 59 and 55, from Kent, were ordered off their yacht by gunmen in the Indian Ocean in the early hours of 23 October.Paul and Rachel Chandler, aged 59 and 55, from Kent, were ordered off their yacht by gunmen in the Indian Ocean in the early hours of 23 October.
It has now emerged that a Navy crew witnessed the kidnap, but did not act for fear of getting the couple killed.
The Chandlers had been travelling to Tanzania from the Seychelles.The Chandlers had been travelling to Tanzania from the Seychelles.
Their yacht, the Lynn Rival, was later found in international waters after a multi-national search. $7m ransom
In a phone call on 29 October, the couple, from Tunbridge Wells, said they were first moved from their yacht to a container ship, the Kota Wajar, which had also been seized by the pirates. Details of the Navy operation were leaked to the press by an anonymous crew member of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship.
The crew member revealed that the vessel, the RFA Wave Knight, had come within just 50ft (15m) of the couple at one point.
An official account of the kidnap released last month said only that a Royal Navy vessel had found the couple's yacht empty, without disclosing that the couple were within sight at the time.
The MoD now says that the ship chose not to intervene further in case the Chandlers were harmed or killed by their captors.
In a phone call on 29 October, the couple, from Tunbridge Wells, said they were initially moved from their yacht to a container ship, the Kota Wajar, which had also been seized by the pirates.
It is thought they were then moved to another ship anchored off the eastern coast of Somalia before being taken to the mainland.It is thought they were then moved to another ship anchored off the eastern coast of Somalia before being taken to the mainland.
The pirates have issued a $7 million (£4.3 million) ransom demand but the British government has insisted it will not make any ransom payment.The pirates have issued a $7 million (£4.3 million) ransom demand but the British government has insisted it will not make any ransom payment.