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Yacht couple 'need urgent help' Yacht couple 'need urgent help'
(20 minutes later)
A British couple kidnapped by Somali pirates have said they are in urgent need of help, according to reports.A British couple kidnapped by Somali pirates have said they are in urgent need of help, according to reports.
"We have not much time left and are being badly treated", Rachel Chandler told a reporter from the French news agency AFP who met them in captivity."We have not much time left and are being badly treated", Rachel Chandler told a reporter from the French news agency AFP who met them in captivity.
Rachel and Paul Chandler, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were captured while sailing towards Tanzania on 23 October. She and husband Paul, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were captured while sailing towards Tanzania on 23 October.
The pirates have threatened to kill the couple if their demands for a ransom are not met.The pirates have threatened to kill the couple if their demands for a ransom are not met.
The Foreign Office has not commented on the latest reports, but has said in the past that it does not pay ransoms or give substantial concessions to pirates.
The latest news of the couple came after a surgeon was allowed to briefly examine the pair on Thursday, accompanied by an AFP photographer.The latest news of the couple came after a surgeon was allowed to briefly examine the pair on Thursday, accompanied by an AFP photographer.
'Please help us''Please help us'
During the examination, Mrs Chandler said: "Please help us, these people are not treating us well," according to AFP. During the examination, AFP reported, Mrs Chandler said: "Please help us, these people are not treating us well."
The surgeon, Mohamed Helmi Hangul, said she was in a poor state of mental and physical health.The surgeon, Mohamed Helmi Hangul, said she was in a poor state of mental and physical health.
"She is sick, she is very anxious, she suffers from insomnia," Mr Hangul told AFP."She is sick, she is very anxious, she suffers from insomnia," Mr Hangul told AFP.
I'm old, I'm 56 and my husband is 60 years old. We need to be together because we have not much time left Rachel ChandlerI'm old, I'm 56 and my husband is 60 years old. We need to be together because we have not much time left Rachel Chandler
"But I think she's mainly mentally unwell, it seems. She's very confused, she's always asking about her husband - 'Where's my husband, where's my husband? - and she seems completely disorientated," he added. "But I think she's mainly mentally unwell, it seems. She's very confused, she's always asking about her husband - 'Where's my husband, where's my husband?' - and she seems completely disorientated," he added.
The couple have been separated by their captors and are being held apart from each other in rugged areas between the coastal village of Elhur and the small town of Amara, further inland, AFP said.The couple have been separated by their captors and are being held apart from each other in rugged areas between the coastal village of Elhur and the small town of Amara, further inland, AFP said.
"I'm old, I'm 56 and my husband is 60 years old. We need to be together because we have not much time left," she said."I'm old, I'm 56 and my husband is 60 years old. We need to be together because we have not much time left," she said.
Mrs Chandler spoke to the doctor in the presence of the AFP photographer, the first journalist to see the hostages since their kidnapping.Mrs Chandler spoke to the doctor in the presence of the AFP photographer, the first journalist to see the hostages since their kidnapping.