One hostage, two pirates killed in French sea rescue (Roundup)

Apr 10, 2009, 18:56 GMT

Paris - One hostage and two of the pirates who had seized a private yacht in the Indian Ocean a week ago were killed Friday as French naval forces overwhelmed the pirates off the coast of Somalia, the office of President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday.

In a statement, the Elysee Palace said that the three other pirates involved in the seizure of the yacht Tanis on April 4 were captured in the operation.

Defence Minister Herve Morin told journalists in Paris late Friday that the victim was the father of the child, 27-year-old Florent Lemacon.

According to Lemacon's blog, he, his wife Chloe and their three-year-old son Colin had been en route to Zanzibar to start a new life. Another couple had also been aboard the yacht, the Tanit, when it was seized.

Sarkozy and Morin expressed their condolences to Lemacon's family and friends. The four hostages who survived the rescue operation were safe and sound, Morin said.

The French defence minister said Lemacon was killed when he was apparently caught in the crossfire between French troops and the pirates. An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of his death.

France 2 television reported Friday that the entire operation lasted only six minutes and that two of the pirates were killed immediately by sharpshooters.

The statement by Sarkozy's office stressed France's determination not to give in to blackmail and to keep the pirates in check.

The pirates had seized the Tanit off the coast of the Gulf of Aden. A French naval vessel had intercepted the boat on Thursday and taken up contact with the pirates. But the pirates rejected all the proposals, with the navy then deciding to take action, Paris said.

The couples were sailing toward Zanzibar despite repeated warnings to stay clear of the waters off Somalia when the pirates captured them.