20 Indians kidnapped by pirates off Western Africa

New Delhi: Twenty Indians on board a commercial vessel were kidnapped by pirates from the high seas off the western coast of Africa on Sunday and the government has taken up the issue with Nigerian authorities, officials said.

India on Monday said it was “concerned” by the reported “kidnapping of 20 Indian crew members” from a merchant vessel MT Duke off the western coast of Africa on December 15, 2019,” adding that “this is the third such incident this year in the region, affecting Indian nationals” and that “our Mission in Abuja has taken up the matter with the Nigerian authorities.”

“We are concerned by the kidnapping of 20 Indian crew members (as reported by the shipping agency) from the vessel MT Duke in the high seas off the western coast of Africa on December 15,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

The incident comes 10 days after 18 Indians on board a Hong Kong-flagged vessel were kidnapped by pirates near the Nigerian coast.