(Sh.M.Network)- -- The families of a South African couple taken hostage by pirates in Somalia 19 months ago have received confirmation they are still alive, Beeld reported on Thursday.| While there's life, there's hope. |
"That's all we know: they're alive, but we don't know what condition they're in, or where they're being held," Hecht was quoted saying.
The couple have been passed between different groups a few times.
"The bad news is that the man with whom we've negotiated up until now has been replaced, with a more radical negotiator. He turned down our last ransom offer," she said.
The pirates initially demanded US4 million. The family had thus far only collected a fraction of that amount.
Calitz and Pelizzari were taken hostage on October 26, 2010 on a yacht in the Mozambique channel.