Daijiworld Media Network

New Delhi, Jun 24: Six Indian sailors of M V Suez, who had been held captive by Somali pirates for ransom for about ten months, reached New Delhi on Friday June 24 morning. They are part of a team of 22 sailors of the ill-fated ship.

The crew, which reached Karachi through Pakistan Navy warship PNS Zulfiqar from the waters off Oman, after their ship sank, having run out of fuel, was flown into India. The sailors, who reached here through Dubai, were given a rousing and emotional reception by waiting family and friends.

N K Sharma, Prashant Chauhan, Satnam Singh, Ravinder Singh, Sachin Pauche, and Biju are the six lucky sailors who survived under challenging circumstances and made it to their home country unscathed. The sailors said that they were through very bad experiences, and that they are grateful to all  those who had worked behind their safe release. The sailors had gone without food and water in between, and were facing frequent threats of assassination from the pirates. “This is our second life,” exclaimed an emotional Ravinder Singh.

Red Sea Navigation, owners of M V Suez, said that the company had borne expenses connected with the transportation of the sailors. Its representative, Majid Aziz, said that Pakistani authorities had made special arrangements to complete immigration procedures without hassles, to facilitate early shipping of the sailors to India.

External affairs minister, S M Krishna, has thanked Pakistan and its navy for helping the sailors during their trying times. Noting that hundreds of sailors continue to be held as captives by the pirates, he has called upon the nations to launch a joint effort to end the menace of piracy.