One death reported on hijacked ship
The captain of a Ukrainian ship hijacked off Somalia said that one crew member had died and that he could see a U.S. ship about a mile from his freighter.
Viktor Nikolsky said via a satellite phone that a Russian sailor died because of hypertension. One of the pirates who seized the Faina, which carries Russian tanks, handed the phone to Nikolsky so he could speak to a reporter. He said other crew members were fine.
Pirates have demanded millions of dollars to free the ship and crew.
The ship Nikolsky described is the destroyer Howard.
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