The French foreign ministry said earlier in the day that a French-registered boat had been found by a German frigate with no passengers on it after making an emergency call late on Thursday.
"The yacht left Aden on Sept 4 and we lost contact with them on Thursday until international forces found them off the coast of al-Mahra (near Oman border)," the source said, adding that he did not know the crew`s nationality.
He added that they had probably been abducted by pirates.
Pirates operating off the coast of Somalia have hijacked scores of vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms from commandeering the ships and seizing hostages. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
