Somalia-kidnap couple back home after year in captivity

Paul and Rachel Chandler arrived back last night following their release on Sunday.

Their return brought to an end a 388-day ordeal that began in October 2009, when their yacht was seized by armed pirates as it sailed from the Seychelles towards Tanzania.

The couple, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, left a plane at Heathrow Airport separately from other passengers and were met by a car on the tarmac.

Looking tired and pale, Mr and Mrs Chandler, aged 60 and 57 respectively, both smiled as they walked down the steps to meet airport officials and then walked quickly to the waiting vehicle and were driven off.

They were released on Sunday and handed over to local officials in the Somali town of Adado after a ransom of up to $1m (620,000) was reportedly paid to their kidnappers.

Mr and Mrs Chandler were then flown to the capital, Mogadishu, and on to Nairobi, Kenya which they boarded a flight yesterday morning.

They only learned after their release that Mr Chandler's father Alfred had died while they were being held.

Their return came after more than 12 months of threats from their captors and fears for their physical and mental health.

The couple had taken early retirement to sail around the world but were kidnapped after armed gunmen boarded their boat as they slept. The yacht, the Lynn Rival, was later found adrift, stripped of all its valuables.

It emerged at the same time that a Royal Navy vessel was forced to watch as the Chandlers were taken from their yacht. The Ministry of Defence insisted there was no way the crew of the RFA Wave Knight could have intervened without endangering the couple.

In November last year they appeared on Channel 4 News in a video, warning that the pirates holding them were "losing patience" and could kill them within a week.

In January, Mr Chandler said he had been separated from his wife and was afraid they would both be executed and dumped in the desert.

He said his wife had been beaten with rifle butts and the pair had been dragged apart and moved to different locations. On March 1, Mrs Chandler was seen on Somali television, saying she was "very tormented and very, very lonely".

A news blackout was later imposed which prohibited reporting on the couple's well-being or any speculation surrounding their release for fear of compromising their safety.

The pair were only told on Friday of their impending release, but subsequently said in brief interviews that they were afraid to believe it.

Their family has refused to comment on how their freedom was secured, after reports suggested a ransom of up to $1m was paid, possibly from a mixture of private investors and the Somali government.

In a statement welcoming the release they said they would not be commenting on the speculation for fear of encouraging abductions of other people.

The British Government maintains a policy of making no concessions to hostage takers and last year the then Foreign Secretary David Miliband insisted the Government would not get involved in any ransom payments to secure the couple's release, as it was not in Britain's interests.