Bulgarian Sailors Say Captors Treated Them Normally, Provided Basic Needs

Diana Dukovska

Pictured from right: Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev, MEP Elena Yoncheva, First Officer Danail Veselinov and Captain Lyubomir Chanev talk to the media at Sofia Airport, January 23, 2025 (BTA Photo/Blagoy Kirilov)

Sofia,

23.01.2025 18:22

(BTA)

The two Bulgarian crew members of the hijacked Galaxy Leader, who were released by Yemeni Houthis on Wednesday after more than a year, said: "The hijackers treated us normally, providing us with the basic necessities for survival. They did not touch us physically."

Captain Lyubomir Chanev and First Officer Danail Veselinov arrived in Sofia aboard the government airplane on Thursday afternoon. The Galaxy Leader was hijacked in the Red Sea in late November 2023.

Chanev thanked his wife and children and his sister, Vesi Chaneva, who is celebrating her birthday on Friday, for the incredible efforts they made to get them back home and for staying strong. Chanev also thanked his parents, friends and relations. "Thank you, Bulgaria, for waiting and hoping for our return," he said.

Danail Veselinov also thanked his family: "You gave us strength and support through all these 14 months."

Both sailors said the hijackers treated them well and did not hurt them. "They began untying us, gave us water and assured us that nothing would happen to us," said Veselinov. According to him, the captors satisfied their every need, and the Bulgarian sailors did not push their limits. "The uncertainty and being away from our families were the hardest things they could do to us," he said.

The government airplane was sent to pick up the two sailors from Muscat, Oman, by order of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.

/RY/