“They are not treating us well….we don’t have much time left.” Those are the words of Rachel Chandler. She and her husband have now been held by pirates in Somalia for over three months since their yacht was seized in October.
In an exclusive video obtained by sister network Sky News the two are heard begging for help. “I want to just say please to my government, get me and my wife out of here,” Paul Chandler said.
A doctor who examined the couple found them not well. Rachel especially said to be physically and mentally ailing. The two are being held separately by the pirates but were allowed to be together in recent days on the advice of the doctor according to Sky.
A spokesman for the UK Foreign office claims it is doing “…everything we can to secure their release” but is refusing to pay any ransom.
Nick Davis of the Merchant Maritime Warfare Centre tells Fox News that the government is “not talking to the pirates.”
He claims that he spoke with the pirates and could’ve gotten the couple released for $200,000 last Fall. The latest ransom demand is reportedly $2 million. The problem, as Davis noted, is the couple does not have a large shipping or insurance company behind them. “The (pirates) want someone to organize a release,” he said.