Ethiopian Journal

A Yemeni fisherman was killed by Somali pirates when the pirates tried to seize his fishing vessel off Somali coast of Bargal, Yemeni Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

In a statement, the ministry quoted the coastguard authorities in the southeastern province of Hadramout as saying that the fishing boat carried nine Yemeni fishermen when it left Shahar port, the main harbor of Hadramout, on Feb. 20.

The accident took place over the past two days, said the statement, adding that it has "no further information whether the Yemeni vessel has been held by the pirates or managed to escape."

"An investigation has been launched to trace the destiny of the other eight Yemeni fishermen," it added.

Despite international warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, piracy is still rampant in one of the world's most important and busiest shipping lanes.

According to statistics released by the Yemeni coastguard, 41 cargo vessels along with 521 sailors of different nationalities were seized by hijackers in 2009.

Xinhua