US hostage makes failed escape attempt
Güncelleme Tarihi:
NAIROBI - The American captain held hostage by four Somali pirates made a desperate escape attempt Friday but was recaptured, and officials said other pirates sought to reinforce their colleagues by sailing hijacked ships to the scene of the standoff.
The U.S. also was bolstering its force by dispatching other warships to the site off the Horn of Africa, where a U.S. destroyer shadowed the drifting lifeboat carrying the hostage, Capt. Richard Phillips. The pirates on the lifeboat fear being shot or arrested if they hand over Phillips - who was taken hostage in their failed effort to hijack the cargo ship Maersk Alabama on Wednesday - and they hope to link up with their colleagues who are using Russian, German and other hostages captured in recent days as human shields.
Negotiations are taking place between the pirates and the captain of the Bainbridge, who is getting direction from FBI negotiators. The captors are also communicating with other pirate vessels by satellite phone, officials said. U.S. Central Command chief Gen. David Petraeus said U.S. warships also headed to the area, more than 300 miles off Somalia's Indian Ocean coast.