South Korea rescues Samho Jewelry crew from pirates

[Gerald]

South Korean navy commandos have stormed a cargo ship which had been seized by pirates in the Arabian Sea. All 21 crew members of the South Korean-owned Samho Jewelry were rescued, said Lt Gen Lee Sung-ho of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The navy said eight of the pirates had been killed and five captured.

South Korea is part of a multinational anti-piracy patrol in the area - it had dispatched a warship after the vessel was seized on Saturday.

The unprecedented rescue mission took place about 1,300km (800 miles) off the coast of Somalia and was described by Lt Gen Lee as "a perfect military operation".

The 11,500-tonne Samho Jewelry had been carrying chemicals from the United Arab Emirates towards Sri Lanka when it was hijacked in the waters between Oman and India.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12248096



Note: 21 January 2011 Last updated at 11:16 GMT