Freed Somali pirate hostages return home

Thirteen mainland crew members that were aboardTaiwanfishing boat "FV Shiuh Fu No 1" arrive atBeijingInternationalAirporton July 24. The boat had been taken hostage by Somali pirates for nearly 19 months. [Photo/Ma Ruzhuang]

With broad smiles and clutching national flags, 13 victims of a Somali pirate kidnapping ordeal arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, looking forward to reunions with friends and family.

With their skin tanned from months of exposure to strong sunlight, the freed crew from the China mainland, were relieved to be home after their 19-month nightmare as hostages of Somali pirates.

The Xu Fu 1 trawler, with 13 crew members from the Chinese mainland, one from Taiwan and 12 from Vietnam, was hijacked by Somali pirates in December 2010 when it was off the Madagascar coast, and forced to Somalia.

As a result of the enduring efforts of Chinese authorities, all 26 hostages were rescued on July 17.

The rescued fishermen boarded the Chinese naval frigate Chang Zhou in Somalia and were escorted to the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania for a transfer on Saturday.

The Vietnamese crew was handed over to their embassy on arrival in Tanzania on Saturday morning.

Twenty-four-hour emergency response and on-board daily physical examinations were available during the escort mission for the rescued fishermen, whose health condition remains weak.

Two teams of government officials from China's Anhui and Henan provinces, where most of the Chinese crew came from, traveled to Tanzania to help the freed fishermen return home.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry worked closely with other ministries, including the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Transport and local governments to rescue the fishermen.

The 12 Vietnamese crew were treated equally during the rescue and escort operations by the Chinese side, and their safety was ensured.