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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| British yachtsmen 'freed by Iran' | British yachtsmen 'freed by Iran' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Five British yachtsmen held by the Iranian navy for a week have been freed, Iranian state radio has said. | |
| The crew were said to have mistakenly strayed into Iran waters as they sailed from Bahrain to Dubai for a race. | |
| It comes hours after UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband spoke by phone to his Iranian counterpart. | It comes hours after UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband spoke by phone to his Iranian counterpart. |
| The five were thought to be held on the island of Sirri in the Gulf and the Foreign Office said it was "actively investigating" the latest reports. | The five were thought to be held on the island of Sirri in the Gulf and the Foreign Office said it was "actively investigating" the latest reports. |
| Luke Porter, 21, from Weston-super-Mare; Oliver Smith, 31, from Southampton; Oliver Young, 21, from Cornwall; Sam Usher, 26, from Scarborough, and Bahrain-based David Bloomer were held on 25 November. | Luke Porter, 21, from Weston-super-Mare; Oliver Smith, 31, from Southampton; Oliver Young, 21, from Cornwall; Sam Usher, 26, from Scarborough, and Bahrain-based David Bloomer were held on 25 November. |
| 'Actively investigating' | |
| According to reports in Iran, the naval guard command of Siri island announced the five were freed about 0400 GMT. | According to reports in Iran, the naval guard command of Siri island announced the five were freed about 0400 GMT. |
| The naval guard command said it accepted the yacht entered Iranian "by mistake". | The naval guard command said it accepted the yacht entered Iranian "by mistake". |
| BBC correspondent Christian Fraser in Bahrain said he had spoken to Vanessa Bloomer, Mr Bloomer's wife, who said she had received no independent verification of the men's release. | |
| Our correspondent added there was still a lot of uncertainty about what was going on. | |
| The five were detained after the Iranian navy stopped their Volvo 60 yacht in the Gulf on 25 November. | |
| The Team Pindar-backed yacht was sailing from Bahrain to Dubai to take part in the Dubai-Muscat Offshore Race. | |
| The 360-nautical mile Dubai-Muscat Offshore Sailing Race began on 26 November and ended two days later in the Omani capital's Bandar Al-Rawdah marina. | |
| The Kingdom of Bahrain yacht is owned by the Sail Bahrain project, which aims to promote the island as a yachting destination and was recently launched by Team Pindar. | |
| Team Pindar is owned by G A Pindar & Son Ltd, a family-owned print and publishing business based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. | |
| It is not the first time British sailors have been detained after being accused of straying into Iranian waters. | |
| In March 2007 there was a prolonged stand-off between the UK and Iran after a 15-strong Royal Navy crew was detained by Iran's Revolutionary Guard. | |
| And in 2004, eight British servicemen were held in Iran after being seized in the Shatt al-Arab waterway, where they were training the Iraqi river patrol service. |