Exxon boat crew members go missing<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Armed men suspected of belonging to the rebel Free Aceh Movement
\n(GAM) kidnapped nine of 11 crew from a boat chartered by PT
\nExxonMobil Indonesia to deliver supplies to workers at an
\noffshore oil exploration site in waters off North Aceh on Monday,
\nthe local military said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Maj. Zainal Mutaqin said the nine crew of KM Pelangi were
\nabducted by a group of armed men who hijacked the vessel off the
\nJambo Ayee coast on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Their whereabouts remained unknown on Monday, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
Zainal was quoted as saying in Lhokseumawe that the kidnappers
\napproached the ill-fated boat aboard two fishing boats.<\/p>\n
\"The hijackers then pointed guns at the crew members,
\nthreatening them to turn over their boat and to return to the
\nJamboo Ayee coastline,\" he added.<\/p>\n
After the Pelangi arrived at the coast, the hijackers held
\nnine of the eleven crew members and ordered the remaining two,
\nidentified as Sudarsono and Rustam, to drive Pelangi away.<\/p>\n
After a tipoff, security forces found the boat and the two
\ncrew members in the Malaka Strait on Sunday night.<\/p>\n
The Pelangi and two crew members were later taken to Guest
\nMarine, owned by natural gas liquefaction company PT Arun NGL,
\nunder tight escort by security personnel accompanied by a number
\nof other boats hired by PT Exxon.<\/p>\n
Zainal said the abductors were members of the rebel Free Aceh
\nMovement (GAM).<\/p>\n
GAM leaders could not be reached for comment on the
\naccusations.<\/p>\n
The nine abducted victims are Yudi Sumardi, who was the
\ncaptain of the boat, and his crew members -- Iren Latinus,
\nThamrin, Ikhsan, Asep, Juandi, Suryo, Siswanto and Karna.<\/p>\n
Zainal said military personnel had been deployed in the hunt
\nfor the kidnappers in an effort to release the nine people being
\nheld hostage.<\/p>\n
It was the latest abduction case blamed by the military on the
\nseparatist rebels.<\/p>\n
Earlier, at least 12 female students were taken hostage by
\nGAM, who later released them unharmed. Most recently, nine
\nsportsmen were abducted by unidentified armed people after
\nreturning from a local sports competition.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/exxon-boat-crew-members-go-missing-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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