Polish sailors kidnapped off Nigerian coast freed

Chika Ebuzor 05:41 - 09 December 2015

This picture is used for illustration purpose. It is not the Szafir cargo vessel.

Pirates attacked the Cyprus-registered Szafir cargo vessel at the end of November and kidnapped its captain and four crew.

The Polish crew of a cargo vessel kidnapped last month off the Nigerian coast are safe and on their way home, Poland's Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said on Tuesday.

"Everything ended happily. The sailors are safe and sound, we are glad that they are coming back to their families," Szydlo said at a televised news conference.

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski thanked Nigerian authorities and the operator of the vessel, EuroAfrica, for their co-operation in efforts to free the crew.

Radio Poland reported that woman whose husband is apparently on board the vessel has told Poland's TVN 24 station that “more than a dozen sailors locked themselves in the engine room and turned off the engines.”