KIEV (Sputnik) — Two Ukrainians and two Lithuanian nationals were seized by pirates off the coast of Nigeria, spokesman of Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry Evgeny Ignatovsky said Friday.
According to media reports, a Russian vessel sailing under the flag of the Comoro Islands was attacked by pirates on Monday about 100 miles west of Nigeria’s Port Harcourt.
"As a result of a pirate attack, two nationals of Ukraine and two of Lithuania were captured, who were members of the Solarte ship crew," Ignatovsky said, as broadcast by the Ukrainian Channel 5.
The attackers have fled with the hostages in an unknown direction, the ministry spokesman added.
According to Ignatovsky, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is cooperating with the Ukrainian embassies in Nigeria and in Lithuania, the Nigerian authorities and the shipowner. Measures are being taken to establish the whereabouts of the captured Ukrainians, the ministry spokesman added.
