25 Indian sailors who were aboard the hijacked MV Biscaglia came back home to hugs, kisses and flowers. Alisha Coelho shares their joy
25 Indian sailors who were aboard the hijacked MV Biscaglia came back home to hugs, kisses and flowers. Alisha Coelho shares their joy
"I thought I would never see them again." That's all Hanif Kapde managed to say when he saw his parents and wife at the Mumbai airport early this morning.
After two months of hell, the chief engineer and 28 other crewmembers of the MV Biscaglia who were caught by Somali pirates after the ship was hijacked off the Gulf of Aden on November 28, 2008, met their relieved family.
Hugs and kisses
There were hugs, kisses, puja thalis and flowers soon after they arrived from Muscat at 5.30 am.
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"It feels like all of us here are one big family," said Saood Ullah Khan, brother of Sheroor Ullah Khan (47), who was the second officer. Sheroor, from Farokhabad in UP, is married with two children and they too have been constantly worried. "Every family here has gone through as much as anguish as us. It feels like we all are related through true pain and now with happiness for having them all back," said Saood.
Madan Fernendo (23) from Chennai was also waiting for his cousin Nazanin Fernendo (31) outside the airport.
Daily anguish
"His wife used to worry every day. Were they harassing him? Was he eating well? When she found out last week that they were going to be released, she could not speak for a few minutes. She could not be here today, so I am here with flowers," said Fernendo.u00a0
The hijack
MV Biscaglia, a Liberian flag vessel with 31 crew on board, was hijacked on November 28 by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Besides Indians, there were three Bangladeshis, two Britons and an Irish sailor on the vessel. The British and Irish sailors escaped after jumping into the sea and they were later rescued. The chemical tanker was carrying 16,282 tonnes of cargo and travelling between Indonesia and Europe. Biscaglia was the 97th vessel to be attacked in 2008 near the Somalian coast.
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