Brit Sailors Recovering From Iran Ordeal
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12:46am UK, Thursday December 03, 2009
Rob Cole, Sky News Online
The five British sailors held by Iran for accidently sailing into Iranian waters are recovering from their ordeal this morning after their surprise release.
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David Bloomer, Oliver Smith, Oliver Young, Sam Usher and Luke Porter were held for a week when their yacht lost power and drifted into Tehran’s waters.
They said it was “very tense” to start with as they were questioned on suspicion of being spies, but were “treated very well” by their guards.
Speaking at a press conference after arriving in Dubai, they confirmed they were all initially blindfolded, except Mr Smith who was told to steer their yacht to dock.
They were held in the same room, and were given darts and a chessboard to pass the time.
Speaking from a boat off Dubai, Mr Bloomer told Sky News: “All five of us are safe. We are happy to be free.
“If anything, we may be a bit overweight because they were feeding us so much.”
The five were told they would be released when guards brought them breakfast on Wednesday morning.
“They said ‘You are free to go’,” Mr Bloomer said. “We were surprised.”
The crew were preparing for a race
Describing his relief, he added: “It was absolute joy. It was amazing.”
Mr Bloomer, a Bahrain-based radio presenter, said he had found his last night in captivity “particularly bad”.
“I didn’t want to build my hopes up,” he said.
Their families held a press conference at the Foreign Office in London shortly after their release.
They told how stressful it had been waiting for news, and said they feared their ordeal might last for months.
The five were freed after pressure from Britain. Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it showed diplomacy could work.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, whose navy had stopped the vessel, said in a statement: “After carrying out an investigation and interrogation of the five British sailors, it became clear that their illegal entry was a mistake.”
The yachtsmen were detained last Wednesday while manning the racing yacht Kingdom of Bahrain as it sailed from Bahrain to Dubai.
admin @ December 3, 2009