Asia-Pacific

Freed hijackers likely died on sea: Interfax

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-11 21:26
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MOSCOW - The Somali pirates who hijacked the "Moscow University" tanker a week ago had not reached the coast and might have died at sea, Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a high-profile source from the Ministry of Defense.

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Russian military officials released the pirates after capturing them in an assault operation last week near the Gulf of Aden.

Initially, they were to be sent to Moscow for prosecution, but were released in the absence of the legal grounds to carry out prosecution.

The pirates' boat allegedly disappeared an hour after the release.

The tanker, with 23 Russian crewmembers on board, had been captured in the eastern part of the Gulf of Aden last Wednesday.
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