Two Lithuanians are onboard a ship that has been hijacked by pirates. According to the National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC), a rescue operation is underway, while few details are released so as not to jeopardise the effort.
The NKVC reported on Friday that the Lithuanian government had been informed about the situation by international partners.
The NKVC has not provided any details about the hijacked vessel, the location or the time of the incident. It says the secrecy is required “in order not to jeopardise the rescue efforts and the health and life of the Lithuanian hostages”.
“This is a sensitive situation and any additional information could undermine the rescue operation, so we have indeed provided as much and maybe even more than we could, and we can only confirm that the government is doing its utmost to ensure that the Lithuanians return home safely,” the NKVC’s spokesman Darius Buta told BNS.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed to BNS that it is aware of the situation and is monitoring it and said that all information will continue to be provided to the NKVC.
Authorities are in touch with the relatives of the kidnapped Lithuanian citizens, the NKVC assured.
Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told the 15min.lt news website that Lithuanian institutions have known about this incident since March 27.
“The fact itself has been known to Lithuanian services and responsible institutions for some time. A crisis management group has been set up, and it includes representatives of the Foreign Ministry. The group is in constant contact with the negotiators,” Landsbergis said.
LRT English
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