Somali pirates free Danish family

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(Antler)

Danish officials said Wednesday that a Danish family of five and two crew members captured by Somali pirates while sailing off the Horn of Africa in February have been released.

Jan Quist Johansen, his wife, their three children, and two crew members were taken hostage on February 24, when their 43-foot sailboat was hijacked in the Indian Ocean, about 600 miles east of Somalia.

Denmark's foreign ministry said in a statement that the group was in good condition:

The seven Danes are well considering the circumstances. They are expected to be back in Denmark shortly.

Reuters said it had information from a pirate, named Hussein, who claimed to have received a ransom of 3 million dollars on Tuesday afternoon. He was reportedly speaking from the coastal village of Ras Bina, in Somalia's Puntland region.

Denmark would not comment on whether a ransom was paid.

In March, soldiers from the semi-autonomous Puntland region were killed during a failed attempt to rescue the family, the BBC reported.

(Read more on GlobalPost: Pirates threaten to kill Danish family of 5)

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/110907/danish-family-freed-somali-pirates-ransom