Somali Olympic Sailing Team Runs Into Trouble After Shooting and Hijacking Opponents
DORSET - England - The Olympic sailing event got off to an eventful start yesterday when the Somali team tried to board their opponents' boat.
A Danish yacht was boarded just before the finish line as the Somali team tried to hijack the boat with AK 47s and RPGs.
"We had just come around the last leg off Weymouth's Esplanade when we saw the Somali team boat, which did not actually have any sails, but had a black skull and crossbones flag on the impromptu mast. The boat was powered by an outboard motor, which is kind of cheating anyway. Twelve armed men boarded our boat and said they were going to kidnap us for ransom," Jens Sigorson, the Danish team captain told BBC Sport.
According to Olympic officials, shots were fired when the Danes refused to capitulate to the armed boarding party. The race ended at 4.30 pm and the Somali team's captain was arrested and disqualified for piracy.
Captain Abdi Maaaxxalalaa, with his crew of eleven merry men, will be airlifted back to Mogadishu later on today.
Email to a friend
Print version
Plain text
Post your comment