Bulgarian Sailors Taken Hostages in India Return Home

The ship Ludogorets was supposed to be sold for scrap in India. Photo by shipspotting.com

The thirteen Bulgarian sailors who were kept locked in an Indian hotel as hostages arrived in Bulgaria late Sunday evening.

The crew of the Ludogorets ship traveled from India to Istanbul by air and then came on a bus from Turkey, the private TV channel bTV reported.

Two of the sailors were dropped off in the Black Sea city of Burgas and the remaining 11 went to other Black Sea city of Varna. They confirmed reports of being kept without food, water, electricity and medications, and of not being allowed to phone their relatives in Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian sailors were taken hostages after the owner of their ship failed to reach an agreement with an Indian businessman in what has been described as a dubious deal, reports say.

The sailors were arrested last week at an Indian port, where the ship was to be sold for scrap.

The arrest was the second time the ship made headlines lately. In June, the sailors approached the authorities, complaining of miserable conditions aboard the ship, which led to the death of two crew members in August. According to them, the owner of the ship owes them unpaid salaries worth tens of thousands of dollars.

The owner of the ship is listed as the Argo Maritime company, whose manager, Stancho Savov, promised to address the case in a special press conference later Monday.

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