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Families of kidnapped sailors under stress as ransom deadline looms
The families of seven kidnapped Indonesian crew from the tugboat Charles are said to be under stress with two days remaining until a deadline set by the Abu Sayyaf group for a Rp 60 billion (US$4.6 million) ransom.
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The tugboat Charles enters Semayang Port in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on June 25. Seven of its 13 crew members were taken hostage by the Filipino militant group Abu Sayyaf on June 20. (Kompas/Dani Julius Zebua)
News Desk
The families of seven kidnapped Indonesian crew from the tugboat Charles are said to be under stress with two days remaining until a deadline set by the Abu Sayyaf group for a Rp 60 billion (US$4.6 million) ransom.
Several family members of the crew said they were frustrated as the Aug. 15 deadline approached, a spokesman for the family, Kapten Ginting, said on Saturday.
"Approaching August 15, the psychological state of the families is that they are in shock as there are only two days left to the deadline," he said as quoted by kompas.com.
The families have yet to receive updated information from the government after a meeting in Jakarta last week with a crisis team set up by the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister. The families trusted the government to secure the release of the sailors, Ginting added, but had received no word on recent efforts.
A team of doctors and psychologists from the Foreign Ministry is currently examining and providing counselling to the family members at the headquarters of shipping company PT PP Rusianto Bersaudara, which owns the Charles, in Sungai Lais, Palembang.
The Charles, carrying 13 Indonesian crew, was hijacked by the notorious Filipino militant group in Sulu waters in the southern Philippines on June 20. Seven sailors were taken from the boat while six others were released. (rin)
