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Report: French pirate hostage was killed by rescuers
May 4, 2009, 8:52 GMT
Paris - French pirate hostage Florent Lemacon was killed by a bullet fired by one of the French marines trying to rescue him, Europe 1 radio reported Monday, citing sources close to the investigation.
Lemacon, skipper of the sailboat Tanit, was killed when French marines attacked the pirates holding him and the other four passengers on the ship, which had been seized on April 4 some 640 kilometres off the coast of Somalia.
Europe 1 reported that the conclusion was based on an autopsy performed on Lemacon as well as testimony by his wife and the marine who fired the fatal shot.
According to the report, when the assault on the Tanit began, Lemacon stood to protect his wife and three-year-old son, and was struck by what was described as a 'reflex shot' fired by the marine. None of the other hostages were injured in the rescue.
French Defence Minister Herve Morin admitted that Lemacon could have been the victim of friendly fire.
'We cannot exclude that, in the exchange of fire between pirates and commandos, the (fatal) shot came from the French side,' Morin said on April 11, the day after the rescue.
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