The 36 crew of the Basque owned fishing boat Alakrana freed by Somali pirates this week say their captures threatened to shoot them.

The vessel docked safely in the Seychelles earlier following a 3 million euro ransom payment. Relieved to be out of harms way the Alakrana’s Captain Ricardo Blach spoke about the ordeal. “Thanks to the government and many other people we are now out of this hell, when the situation was at its most difficult”. Pure joy for the sailors and their families that their 2 month’s of anguish had ended. Nevertheless, questions remain over how the deal was struck. Spain’s Maritime Minister Juan Carlos Martín Fragueiro: “I don’t know how much the ransom was. The Government just backed the boat company on the negotiations” Yesterday, a Spanish judge said a probe would be launched to investigate the people who helped broker the ransom for the pirates.More about: Spain

Copyright © 2012 euronews