Five crew members aboard an oil tanker seized off the Somali coast were killed before regional security forces retook the vessel, according to a senior local official who spoke with the BBC.
Puntland Deputy Information Minister Bile Qabowsade stated that the five crew members were killed by pirates before regional forces stormed MT Hoarner 25.
Among the deceased were three Pakistanis, one Indian, and one Myanmar national. Four other crew members were injured, including three Pakistanis and one Indian.
The vessel, carrying approximately 18,500 barrels of oil bound for Mogadishu, was seized in April by six armed men while sailing off the Somali coast.
Sixteen suspected pirates have been arrested, while others escaped and remain at large, officials reported.
Qabowsade dismissed reports suggesting Puntland forces assisted any pirates in escaping. Authorities have not provided further details on how the five crew members were killed or how the pirates seized the vessel.
The hijacked tanker was anchored off the Somali coast between the fishing towns of Xaafun and Bander Beyla.
Earlier in April, officials reported 17 crew members aboard the vessel at the time of the hijacking, including 10 Pakistanis, four Indonesians, one Indian, one Sri Lankan, and a Myanmar national.
Piracy off the Somali coast declined sharply after 2011 following international naval operations, though attacks and hijackings have risen in recent years.
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