Pirates take Danish boat carrying kids

COPENHAGEN - Pirates have hijacked a Danish sailboat with four adults and three children aboard as they were crossing the Indian Ocean, the Danish government said yesterday.

Most hostages captured in the pirate-infested waters off East Africa are professional sailors, not families. Pirates are not known to have captured children before.

The Danish Foreign Ministry said the ship sent a distress signal on Thursday. On board were a Danish couple, their three children, aged 12 to 16, and two adult crew members, also Danes.

Two days before the sailboat sent the distress signal, four Americans were killed by Somali pirates in a hostage standoff. They were the first Americans slain since a wave of attacks began six years ago.

Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen said she was "deeply concerned" about the situation.

"It is almost unbearable to think that there are children involved and I can only sharply denounce the pirates' actions," Espersen said.

Danish news agency Ritzau, citing Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Charlotte Slente, said the boat was believed to be heading toward Somalia.

Earlier in the day, the European Union Naval Force said Somali pirates had hijacked a Greek-owned cargo vessel, the MV Dover, with 23 crew, in the north Arabian Sea, 260 miles northeast of Salalah, Oman. The ship had been on its way to Yemen from Pakistan. Three Romanians, 19 Filipinos and a Russian are aboard the Panama-flagged vessel.

Separately, the naval force said pirates released the MV Izumi on Friday. The Panama-flagged vessel and its Filipino crew of 20, taken in October, were believed to be making for a safe port.

Somali pirates hold more than 660 hostages and some 30 vessels. If a vessel's owner is unable to pay the multimillion-dollar ransoms they demand, they may use it to stalk other vessels until they run out of supplies or break down.