Spanish navy sails to find hijacked boat

Spain has sent one of its navy ships to waters off Somalia, where pirates seized a Spanish tuna fishing boat with 26 people on board on Sunday, the foreign ministry said, adding that the crew seemed to be unhurt.

Early yesterday, national radio quoted a man it said was the captain of the boat as saying everybody on board was well. A man who said he was one of the captors said in broken English that the pirates were Somalis and wanted money.

Kidnapping and piracy are lucrative businesses in lawless Somalia and most Somalis treat their captives well in anticipation of a good ransom.