New Delhi: The detained sailors in Equatorial Guinea, including Keralites, will not be extradited to Nigeria immediately. All the 15 crew members who were detained have been brought back to Malabo, the capital of Guinea.
The crew members have been stopped from being handed over to Nigeria through diplomatic-level intervention. Fifteen of the crew members, including two Keralites, were shifted to a hotel.
The 26 sailors, including 16 Indians - the crew of the Norway ship Heroic Idun, have been detained by the navy of Guinea, a West African country, allegedly for crossing their sea boundaries.
Under the behest of the Nigerian Defence, the Guinean Navy surrounded their ship and took the crew members into custody. Despite their company based in Norway handing over a ransom to release its crew members and the ship, the Guinean Navy did not budge. The move was to hand over all the detained sailors to Nigeria.
Vijith, brother of Vismaya from Kollam who had died following dowry harassment, is also among the detained sailors. Other Keralites are Sanu Jose, the First Officer of the ship and Milton, a native of Kochi.
