Hijjah 08, 1431/Nov 14, SPA -- Somali pirates released British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler on Sunday after holding them hostage for more than a year, Reuters cited Somali officials as saying. Somali pirates kidnapped the retired couple on Oct. 23 last year after hijacking their 38-foot yacht Lynn Rival in the Indian Ocean off Seychelles. Mohamed Aden Tiicey, a senior official in the town of Adado, told Reuters the Chandlers were handed over early on Sunday after the payment of a ransom. "The Chandlers are with me now. They are free and safe," he said. Abdi Mohamed Elmi, a Somali doctor who has been involved in efforts to free the Chandlers, told Reuters the couple had been released and would leave Adado by aircraft. Rachel Chandler confirmed to Reuters they had been freed and said by telephone that they were very happy. A plane left Kenya's capital Nairobi on Sunday morning to collect the Chandlers and it has now landed in Adado.
