Hostage sailors - new footage, new pleas from Somalia

6:16 AM Mon 1 Feb 2010 GMT

'Rachel Chandler as she appeared last Thursday' .

New footage has now been received of cruising sailors Paul and Rachel Chandler, who have been held captive by Somali pirates for over three months now.

The image was taken by a French news agency that was allowed to accompany a doctor who examined Mrs Chandler and her husband Paul, who are being held separately.

The strain on 56-year-old Mrs Chandler's face is clearly visible as she sits with her dress hanging loosely from her thin shoulders.

Yesterday she renewed her plea for urgent help, saying: 'We have not much time left and are being badly treated. Please help us - these people are not treating us well.'

She went on: 'I'm old, I'm 56, and my husband is 60 years old. We need to be together because we have not much time left. These people are treating us so cruelly.'

This is only the second time Mrs Chandler, an economist, has been seen since she and her husband were kidnapped in October at gunpoint as they sailed in their yacht towards Tanzania.

The last time was in November, when a video taken by the kidnappers - who are demanding a ?1.9million ransom - was shown on British television station Channel 4.

They have made other pleas for help in desperate phone calls, most recently on January 21, but the physical deterioration in yesterday's new images are clear.

The Somalian doctor who examined Mrs Chandler said she was suffering a heavy ' mental' toll as well, which was manifested in 'insomnia'.

Paul Chandler being examined by the doctor who was allowed in - .. .

Surgeon Mohamed Helmi Hangul, who spent three weeks securing permission to visit the couple, said she was 'mentally ill', 'anxious', 'disorientated' and had been asking repeatedly for her husband.

Mr Chandler also appeared gaunt in the video taken last Thursday but released last night. His ribs could be seen as he lifted his shirt to be checked by the doctor, who reported he had a cough and a fever.

The pair are being held in separate locations in rugged areas between the coastal village of Elhur and the small town of Amara

Paul Chandler, 60, pleaded for help after admitting the conditions they were being held in were 'difficult'
In the video, filmed by the AFP photographer, Mr Chandler, a retired quantity surveyor, called on the British Government to intervene.

'We are innocent. We have done no wrong. We have no money and can't pay a ransom. We just need the Government to help, anyone who can get us out of here,' he said. 'Day after day and this is 98 days of solitary confinement, no exercise. I don't know what to do.' Mr Chandler finally pleaded: 'Will somebody please help? The government or somebody else.'

Dr Hangul added he had not been allowed to bring any drugs with him but left a prescription-with the pirates. 'I gave them some advice and told them, "Your hostages can die. All you want is money so treat them well, let them reunite",' he said.

Mrs Chandler's brother, Stephen Collett, was too distressed to comment last night. A family friend said: 'This is a highly distressing time for the family. They know the stakes are high and they are in an impossible position. The pirates want an unaffordable ransom and the Government won't pay it.'.

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Hostage sailors - new footage, new pleas from Somalia

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