Indian among 5 killed in Somalia during hijacked ship rescue

An Indian national and four others who were a part of the crew of hijacked tanker were killed in a shootout between pirates and Somali security forces on Tuesday.

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The incident was reported to the Directorate General of Maritime Administration (DGMA) on Wednesday.

Indian national Mohammed Tanweeruz Zaman worked as a cook on the MT Honour 25 tanker that was hijacked on April 24. He was a resident of West Bengal. Zaman’s relatives had earlier informed the DGMA that the tanker was hijacked by Somali pirates. Zaman was hired by World Maritime Energy Private Limited based in Punjab.

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The agency told the DGMA he was killed in an exchange of fire while security forces were trying to retake the tanker. The other crew members who died include three Pakistanis and one Myanmar national. The vessel is currently proceeding towards the port of Bosaso under escort.

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A report prepared by the directorate said that the tanker carried bitumen and was Palau-flagged. It had a crew of one Indian, 10 Pakistanis, four Indonesians, one Myanmar national and one Sri Lankan.