* At least 35 killed in last year, often in rescue attempts
* At least 555 hostages taken in 2011, 645 in 2010
* Captives held longer, receive much harsher treatment
By Peter Apps, Political Risk Correspondent
LONDON, June 22 (Reuters) – Somali pirates seizing Indian
Ocean ships were responsible for at least 35 hostage deaths in
2011, a report showed on Friday, with levels of violence rising.
The number of prisoners taken by pirates fell to 555, at
least, in 2011 from 645 in 2010, the report by the U.S.-based
One Earth Future foundation and International Maritime Bureau
said.
Eight were known to have been killed by their captors either
during their initial capture or were executed later, it said,
with another eight dying of malnutrition or disease. The
remainder were killed either during rescue attempts by military
forces or while trying to escape.
While solid data on previous years is limited, the total of
35 is seen as by far the highest number of piracy-related
fatalities in a single year.
“We know these figures are almost certainly an
underestimate,” project manager Kaija Hurlburt told Reuters. “A
lot of the ships now being taken are regional dhows that are
often never reported. They might have 12 to 20 people aboard
each time.”
Continued…
