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Russian embassy in Nigeria confirms release of abducted Russian sailors

Earlier, human right ombudsman in Sevastopol Pavel Butsai told TASS the sailors were released for a ransom, the sum of which is kept secret. The men’s relatives have been informed about their release

RABAT, March 5. /TASS/. Russian crew members of the BBC Caribbean cargo ship who were kidnapped in Nigeria’s territorial waters in early February, have been released and left Nigeria late on Saturday, Artyom Romanov, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Nigeria, told TASS on Sunday.

"We confirm that the seven Russian sailors who were abducted in Nigeria last month, have been freed and left Nigeria on Saturday evening," he said. "All of them were in satisfactory condition at the moment of leaving Nigeria. They were in good health."

Earlier, human right ombudsman in Sevastopol Pavel Butsai told TASS the sailors were released for a ransom, the sum of which is kept secret. The men’s relatives have been informed about their release.

According to earlier reports, the general cargo ship The BBC Caribbean, owned by Germany’s Briese Schiffahrt company, came under an attack by pirates in Nigeria’s territorial waters on February 5. Eight crew members - seven Russians (three of them from Sevastopol) and one Ukrainian - were taken hostage. Three crew members who remained on the ship - the chief engineer, the second mate and a cadet - managed to escape from the pirates and maneuvered the ship towards Las Palmas, Spain. Later, they returned to Russia.

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