Three sailors from Kerala, who were released after over nine months of detention in Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria, said they were forced to drink toilet water in captivity.
Sanu Joseph, V. VIjith and Milton D' couth were among the sixteen Indian crew members of cargo vessel MT Heroic Idun which was in detention since August last year. They were released following the government's lengthy negotiations with the authorities concerned and reached home on June 10.
The vessel had a total of 26 crew members, including 16 Indians, eight Sri Lankans, a Polish and a Filipino. They were detained in Equatorial Guinea and subsequently in Nigeria after being accused of various crimes, including oil theft. The ship was also accused of crossing the territorial waters of Equatorial Guinea.
According to reports, the Indian Mission officials remained in regular touch with the crew and undertook consular access on numerous occasions.
Following interventions with the Nigerian government, the crew was allowed to remain on board the ship with the provision of regular food, instead of being taken to a detention centre. The crew members were also allowed periodic contact with their families.
The sailors said that they suffered a lot while in captivity and they fell ill and had to be hospitalized due to malarial fever, reported IANS. One of the sailors said that they had even lost hope and never expected to see their family and friends again.
