Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention for the discharge of 16 Indian seafarers, together with three Keralites, who have been taken hostage in Equatorial Guinea.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Vijayan reported {that a} Norwegian ship was apprehended by a Guinean naval ship in worldwide waters on 12 August. “Twenty-six sailors, including 16 Indians, were being held hostage. Of these, three are from Kerala. The vessel has been illegally kept since August 14,” he mentioned within the letter.
Vijayan, in his letter, mentioned that the ship’s crew was not concerned in any unlawful actions and that his transport agent was able to pay the positive to facilitate the discharge of the sailors. “The shipping firm paid the fine on 28 September, but the ship and its crew are still being arrested in Guinea.”
CM Vijayan mentioned the federal government was involved over the unexpected delay in releasing the sailors and additional delays would make their lives unsafe.
Meanwhile, one of many detained sailors within the Central African nation, Vijit V Nair, mentioned that each one these detained have been dumped in a room, which is guarded by armed males. In a video launched to the media, Nair, a local of Kollam in Kerala, pleaded for presidency intervention. “We were all taken off the ship and locked in a room, which is locked from outside. Armed people are guarding outside,” he mentioned.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
