MOGADISHU – It has been a year since Paul and Rachel Chandler were kidnapped off their private yacht by Somali pirates the night of Oct. 23, 2009.
The Chandler’s took early retirement about four years ago and were spending six-month at sea aboard their yacht when they were kidnapped and held for ransom by Somali pirates who asked for $7 million to get them released.
A year of negotiations and ransom demands has finally ended in one of the most drawn-out and dramatic hostage situations in history.
They arrived in Kenya's capital of Nairobi by nightfall, landing at the military wing of the main international airport. Rachel Chandler told The Associated Press by phone: "We are happy to be alive."
Dahir Abdullahi, a Somali who helped negotiate the Chandlers' release, said the couple talked to their relatives by phone shortly after being set free.
"We are happy to be alive, happy to be here, desperate to see our family, and so happy to be amongst decent, everyday people, Somalis, people from anywhere in the world who are not criminals, because we've been a year with criminals and that's not a very nice thing to be doing," Rachel Chandler said at a news conference in Mogadishu.
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