Detained Sailors Refuse To Depart From The Port For A Hotel In Equatorial Guinea
The 16 sailors from India, who had sent out an SOS on Thursday, mentioned that they would be taken to a hotel in Malabo. However, the sailors refused to depart from the port as one of the crew members from Sri Lanka collapsed and was then taken to a hospital.
Earlier in the day, the crew members of Heroic Idun had shared the information that they would be taken to Equatorial Guinea’s capital following a diplomatic intervention from India’s government. Later on, they refused to leave the port.
In the most recent video from Equitorial Guinea, the crew members are seen waiting at the port. In the video, a sailor is heard saying they have been sitting there for a long time without food or water.
In another clipping, the crew members can be seen refusing to depart from the port, saying they weren’t ready to go without the Sri Lankan member in the hospital.
The 26-member crew, including 16 from India, was reportedly detained by Equatorial Guinea for allegedly crossing the sea boundaries. The whole team was taken into custody basis of Nigeria’s defence department’s orders.
In one of the earlier statements, the owner of the Norwegian vessel said that they had handed a ransom amount to release the crew members and the ship. Still, the Guinean Navy reportedly decided to go on with the detention.
On 9 November, the sailors reportedly sent an SOS text to the Indian government after more than 80 days of being detained and shared information regarding the possible handover of the arrested crew members to Nigeria.
Roshan Arora, the third officer on the ship, appealed to India’s PM Narendra Modi and the foreign ministry to launch an intervention and rescue them.
The crew members, including 16 Indians, were seen holding the national flags and placards with the message — save us.
References: India Today, On Manorama
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