Sailors kidnapped off Nigeria return to Turkey, describe death threats and forest captivity

ISTANBUL, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Fifteen Turkish sailors
kidnapped by pirates last month in the Gulf of Guinea arrived
back in Turkey on Sunday and the ship's captain described how
they faced death threats and were held in a forest during their
three-week ordeal.
The sailors hugged relatives as they arrived before dawn at
Istanbul Airport, where they were greeted by Turkish Foreign
Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and other officials, two days after
news of their release in Nigeria emerged.
"We were in a forest. There were tough conditions. There
were constantly armed men at our side," Mustafa Kaya, captain of
the ship "Mozart" from which the crew were abducted, was cited
as saying by the Demiroren news agency.
The Liberian-flagged container ship was headed to Cape Town
from Lagos when it was attacked on Jan. 23, 160 km (100 miles)
off Sao Tome island, maritime reports showed. One Azeri sailor
was killed in what the crew described as a sophisticated and
well-orchestrated attack. "We didn't experience physical violence but they exerted
psychological pressure during the negotiations. They said 'we
will kill you if your company does not do what we want'," Kaya
said.
Kaya said that at the time of their abduction the crew had
locked themselves in a secure room but that the pirates had
forced their way in after a five-hour struggle.
"They were constantly opening fire, firing randomly inside.
At that time one of our colleagues died. He was shot in the
belly. We are very sad," he said.
The crew was finally taken by boat and released at a safe
place specified by the company. Their release came two weeks
after the attackers made contact to discuss a ransom.
After their release, Levent Karsan from Istanbul-based Boden
Shipping had said that the sailors were all in good health and
that it was not a political kidnapping, but solely aimed at
getting a ransom, with talks handled by a team based in Hamburg.