CAIRO: The heroic escape of the 34 Egyptian fishermen from their Somali captives two weeks ago was dampened by the conflicting stories and exchanged accusations between owners of the vessels and the fishermen. Both parties are accusing each other of taking more credit than they deserve, with each telling a different story regarding the government's involvment in laying down the escape plan. The fishermen filed a complaint to the general prosecutor accusing Hassan Khalil, owner of one of the vessels, of taking all the credit for the escape as well as not paying a promised amount of money. While Khalil said that the government and the Egyptian intelligence laid down the escape plan and followed its execution step by step, the fishermen say they managed to escape without any assistance. The fishermen on board the two vessels "Samara and "Mumtaz 1 were fishing near the Somali borders last April when two small boats approached them, started firing in the air, and took them hostage. "Pirates started to call us here and demand a $4 million ransom and we told them we have only $50,000, Khalil told Daily News Egypt. Khalil said he was prompted to go down to the Somali Coast himself four months after the vessels were kidnapped when he was informed of the ill-treatment of the fishermen. "The police told me to travel and they said they were going to follow me, Khalil said. Two of Khalil's sons were among the hostages. Khalil contacted friends in Yemen and issued an entrance visa to Djibouti and from there to Somalia. After his arrival, Khalil started contacting the pirates and their families to pressure them to accept the money but to no avail. Khalil says he persuaded the pirates' leader to allow him to come aboard and visit the hostages. He claims he gave the hostages a satellite phone and informed them about the time of their getaway. He also said he would distract the pirates on shore. At this point my mission was done; it was now the hostages turn . the fishermen attacked the pirates, causing three of them to jump off board, Khalil said. They successfully escaped and they called us that night telling us they sailed 50 miles off the shore and that they were all fine. I told them to feel safe now as the Egyptian government has two military armed ships waiting for them, Khalil added. I had my role and the sailors had theirs, the sailors were onboard the vessels. We planned their escape and gave them the cell phones, and I came back to the shore and they continued, Khalil said. According to Khalil, the government was following up with them on a daily basis. On the other hand, Abdel Salam Ismail, one of the hostages, denied Khalil's claims, saying the fishermen planned and executed their escape themselves, and that no one was waiting for them. Khalil visited us once and told us he could only gather $120,000 and that he would give it to us if we succeeded in escaping, Ismail told Daily News Egypt. However, Khalil turned them down when they asked him for the money he promised, Ismail said. According to Ismail, some of the pirates had left when a captivated Italian vessel was released, leaving the hostages with only three pirates on each vessel. He added that the pirates standing guard on the coast had also left their spots so the fishermen called the other boat owner, Ahmed Samara, in Egypt through a secret phone they say they already had. He told them that Khalil about to leave and that a deal was reached; and in the mean time they attacked the pirates and took eight hostages. We were thinking of escaping but the terrestrial pirates were a hurdle so when they left and we only had three pirates on each ship, we attacked them, Ismail said. We didn t meet any ship; except a Syrian boat owned by a man called Hossam El-Nabolsy and he provided us with food and water, he added. Our children were devastated and our lives are almost over; we don t know who to complain to; we want our right back, said Ismail, who claims he needs surgery on his back. Many of the freed hostages now remain jobless and broke. They'd initially placed high hopes on the fishing trip to the Somali Coast. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced earlier that it had nothing to do with the rescue operation.
