UK couple kidnapped by Somali pirates fear for lives

This is an update on a story I was following.

The BBC reported that a couple kidnapped by Somali pirates off the coast of Somalia have been threatened to die if no ransom money will be paid.

The couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, were kidnapped on October 23 when they were going to Tanzania. The couple's yacht was found in international waters soon after that.

The Somali pirates made a ransom demand for $7m during a phone call to BBC. The victims' family had the chance to talk to them a little after they were captured. The Chandlers reported that they were being treated fine despite the captivity. They said they were given food and water and were not in harm.

However, the BBC got a hold of a video, the footage was aired by Channel 4 News, of the Chandlers speaking at gunpoint earlier this week.

The Chandlers reported that they were under a lot of stress and they thought the pirates were going to loss patience and kill them.

The UK government has a clear position which is that no payment will be made to pirates under these circumstance. They say that this ransom money is too large and have expressed their sympathy to the victims' family.

The UK Foreign Office has reiterated its position from the last statement saying although the couple were "blameless tourists", no ransom money will be made.