LONDON — Three children are among seven Danes who have been kidnapped by pirates in the Indian Ocean, Danish officials said Monday.

The three youths, ages 12 to 16, were taken captive along with their parents and two other adults on board a sailing vessel that put out a distress call last Thursday, the Danish Foreign Ministry said. Media reports said the boat was on its way to Somalia, but the purpose of the voyage was unclear.

It’s believed to be the first time that children have been victims in the spate of hostage-taking in the waters off eastern Africa. Lene Espersen, Denmark’s foreign minister, said officials were in close contact with the victims’ families.

“It is almost unbearable to think that there are children involved,” she said Monday.

Espersen said the Danish government would not comment too much on the situation, for fear that media attention could negatively affect the outcome. Just two days before the Danish boat issued its distress signal, four Americans aboard another hijacked ship were shot and killed by their Somali captors.

Pirates have become a scourge around the Gulf of Aden. Although international naval forces have stepped up patrols, the area is too vast to be secured.

 


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