Pirates ‘seize Danish children’

Three Danish children and their parents have been snatched by pirates who hijacked their sailing boat in the Indian Ocean, Danish reports say.

Denmark’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Charlotte Slente told the Ritzau news agency that two crew members were also captured during the attack.

She said pirates seized the boat last Thursday and were heading to Somalia.

Piracy is a highly lucrative trade in Somalia, where gangs can often demand millions of dollars in ransoms.

As of last week, the EU’s anti-piracy naval force said pirates were holding a total of 31 vessels, and 688 hostages.

Many of the vessels they target are commercial tankers.

If confirmed, the Danes would be the second group of non-commercial sailors hijacked by pirates in recent weeks.

A group of Americans was seized earlier in February, and four of them were killed as the US Navy tried to rescue them.

US forces say the pirates shot them.