Mr Chandler, 59, and his wife, 55, were taken captive from their yacht the Lynn Rival in October last year while sailing from the Seychelles towards Tanzania. Since then they have been taken on land in Somalia and are constantly being moved around.
Now the gang are demanding a $3 million (£1.9 million) ransom, and have set a deadline of two months for it to be paid.
One of the pirates, who said his name was Noor, was quoted in the Daily Mail as saying: “We are giving an ultimatum of two months from January 1. If we are not paid $3million we are ready to shoot them.
“It is becoming too expensive to hold these people. By March, they have to decide or we will be done with them.”
Another pirate said Mrs Chandler was beaten in one incident but they have arranged for her to get medical treatment.
Mr Chandler, a retired quantity surveyor from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and his wife, an economist, last month pleaded with the Government to “get us out by Christmas, by whatever means”, while in November, the couple appeared in a video being held at gunpoint by their captors.
It has also emerged that a Royal Navy warship manned by at least 10 Royal Marines was just 50 yards away from the incident but took no action as the ship’s commander decided it was unsafe to attempt a rescue.
The gang had initially demanded a $7 million (£4.3 million) ransom for the Chandlers’ release, although the figure has since dropped.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “We’re monitoring the situation closely. Foreign Office staff are in close contact with the family and offering support. We call for the release of Paul and Rachel.”
____
Source: Telegraph
