WORLD> Africa
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WORLD> Africa
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Crew retakes hijacked US ship, captain held hostage
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-09 09:58
Meanwhile, Pentagon officials said the US Navy destroyer Bainbridge and other ships are on the way to the scene, though they are hundreds of kilometers away.
"There are four Somali pirates, and they've got our captain," he said. Phillips is being held in the US-flagged ship Maersk Alabama's 8.4-meter lifeboat, Quinn said. The crew had a plan to make an exchange for their captain.
"We tied him up and he was our prisoner," he said. The crew gave back their prisoner but the pirates reneged on the plan and are continuing to hold Phillips captive. "So now we're just trying to offer them whatever we can, food, but it's not working too good," he said. Quinn said the crew is trying to hold off the pirates for three more hours until a coalition warship is expected to arrive. The Maersk Alabama was carrying food aid bound for the Kenyan port of Mombasa when it was seized. Twenty American crew members were on board. Quinn said the pirates were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, but the freighter's crew carried no weapons.
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