MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On February 23, a pirate attack on the French MV Bourbon ship took place in the Gulf of Guinea. One Russian and a Nigerian were captured during the attack by pirates. On February 25, the Russian embassy in Nigeria confirmed this information.
On Monday, reports emerged that the Russian national had been killed during the capture of the ship.
"The Russian embassy in Nigeria does not confirm the fact of the tragic accident with the Russian sailor. The matter is that on Sunday evening there was a telephone contact within the negotiations with pirates regarding his release. There have not been plans to carry out a military operation to liberate the Russian sailor. This is all information at the moment," the embassy told RIA Novosti.
Earlier in March, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the health of the Russian captive could have been characterized as satisfactory.
The ship was rescued by the Nigerian Navy soon after the attack.
