Govt working to repatriate sailors after tanker recovered

• FO confirms death of three Pakistani nationals; three others injured by pirates receiving treatment in Puntland • Families question rescue operation, seek return of the dead and injured • Rights groups blame ‘communication gap’ as Islamabad does not recognise Puntland KARACHI / ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Wednesday confirmed that three Pakistanis were among five crew members killed aboard the hijacked oil tanker MT Honour 25 before the vessel was recovered by Puntland security forces, as families of the dead and injured seamen appealed to the government to bring their loved ones home.

The three slain Pakistanis were identified as Rafiullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmed Ansari. In addition, three of the four injured crew members were also Pakistani nationals, the Foreign Office said. “The injured have been taken to a nearby hospital and are receiving medical care,” it said, adding that the surviving crew members had been brought safely ashore at Bandar Beyla in Puntland. The FO said that Pakistani officials from its embassy in Djibouti were proceeding to Bandar Beyla to assist their compatriots.