4 injured Pakistanis rescued from vessel hijacked in Somalia head to Karachi with remains of 3 colleagues

Four injured Pakistani crew members of a hijacked oil tanker, along with the remains of three colleagues, have arrived in Karachi after being rescued from the vessel off the coast of Somalia. The Pakistani Foreign Office announced that the four injured Pakistanis - Usman Ghani, Aqeel Khan, Ameen bin Shams, and Yasir Khan - as well as the deceased sailors Rafi Ullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer, and Mahmood Ahmad Ansari, were being transported aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 694.

The seven crew members were among 10 Pakistanis on board the MT Honour 25, which was hijacked by Somali pirates in April. The ransom for the crew's release had been around $3 million, but negotiations had stalled, and the crew's health was deteriorating. Somali maritime police recovered the hijacked Palau-flagged tanker on September 29, apprehending 21 suspected pirates during the operation.

Five crew members were killed by the pirates before the operation, while three Pakistanis, one Indian, and one Myanmar national were killed during the rescue attempt. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced a relief package worth Rs12.5 million for the families of the deceased sailors.

Brief written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.