Chandlers’ family: ‘common sense prevailed’
Paul and Rachel Chandler are in “good spirits” their family says in a statement, passing on the couples’ thanks to all those who helped secure their release.
Yesterday evening, we received the wonderful news that Paul and Rachel Chandler were to be released by the Somali pirates who had held them in captivity since October 23, 2009.
The videos that were shown on television earlier this year indicated that they were coping with the conditions and were in relatively good health.
But we cannot yet be certain how the difficulties that they have had to endure in recent months will have affected them physically and emotionally. We would ask that everyone gives them the opportunity to adjust and return to their families and friends in the days to come.
There will be the inevitable questions of how their release was achieved.
Throughout the protracted discussions with the pirates it has been a difficult task for the family to get across the message that these were two retired people on a sailing trip on a small private yacht and not part of a major commercial enterprise involving tens of millions of pounds of assets.
Thankfully, common sense finally prevailed and a solution was obtained for their release in the last few days.
There will be the inevitable questions of how their release was achieved.
The family believes it would be irresponsible to discuss any aspect of the release process as this could encourage others to capture private individuals and demand large ransom payments, something that we are sure none of us wants.
The family would like to thank those in the Somali community especially, both locally, and in the UK, who did so much to help secure their release.
Somali Briton masterminds Chandlers' release: inside story
EXCLUSIVE: Jonathan Rugman, reporting from Nairobi, meets the former London minicab driver who claims to have masterminded the release of the British yachting couple Paul and Rachel Chandler.
The middleman who masterminded the release of Paul and Rachel Chandler is Dahir Abdullahi Kadiye, a former minicab driver from London who oversaw the transfer of a ransom of more than $450 000 to the Somali pirates and their financial backers.
Read more: Somali Briton masterminds the Chandlers' release
At 0300hrs GMT on 14th November Paul and Rachel began their journey away from the pirates by road.
At approximately 0900 hrs (GMT), after a reception organised by the local administration, they boarded a light aircraft on the airstrip at Adado, for the first leg of their journey to Nairobi.
Both Paul and Rachel are in good spirits although very tired and exhausted by their experience.
They landed in Mogadishu and were taken by convoy to meet the Prime Minister of the TFG (Transitional Federal Government), Mohamed Abdullah Farmajo. This was followed by an onward flight, crossing the Kenyan border to safety and freedom, arriving at 1440 hrs, London time, their ordeal having lasted 388 days.
Both Paul and Rachel are in good spirits although very tired and exhausted by their experience.
They will now both have medical checks in Nairobi, following which they will fly back to the UK.
All family members would like to thank all the media who have respected the injunction for their cooperation and restraint throughout the ordeal of Paul and Rachel and would ask that this spirit of understanding continues while they are reunited with family and friends.
The family will not be making any further statements until they have had an opportunity to talk with Paul and Rachel on their return.
Paul and Rachel have asked us to thank all those around the country who have offered support during their ordeal and the professional advisors who have worked around the clock to secure their release.
