The Hindu : Front Page : Agonising wait ends for families

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Monday, Nov 17, 2008
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Agonising wait ends for families

Dehradun/Mumbai: Seema Goyal can’t stop hugging her three children since she heard that her husband Captain Prabhat Kumar Goyal and 17 sailors aboard hijacked ship M T Stolt Valor had been released by Somali pirates, ending the agonising two-month wait of their families.

“I don’t know what to say. This is happiest news of my life,” said Seema as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Celebrations erupted at the Goyal household as neighbours joined Prabhat’s parents, spouse and children after they heard the news of his release. The family distributed sweets. “We are very very happy,” an emotional R.K. Goyal, a retired college teacher, said on the release of his son .

For the past one month, there had been no contact between Goyal and his family, which resides at Dehra Dun’s posh Teg Bahadur Road locality. The last time Goyal had rung up was on Oct 15.

However, the Goyal family refused to speak on whether any ransom was paid. “We are just hoping to travel to Mumbai to receive him soon,” Seema said, adding “they will be reaching India in another four-five days.”

Like Seema, who ran from pillar to post to secure the release of her husband, the ordeal for Mumbai-based Rosary Fernando, whose brother-in-law Panirayan Lobo was on the ship, had finally ended.

While Seema travelled to Delhi and Mumbai umpteen times and met Union Ministers including Shipping Minister T.R. Baalu, Rosary regularly visited the offices of the Directorate General of Shipping and the National Union of Seafarers of India for any information. — PTI

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