Christian Colombo was killed aboard his sailing catamaran, while wife Evelyne rescued from pirates by Spanish warship

Pirates who last week attacked the French sailing catamaran, Tribal Kat, killed its French skipper and took his wife hostage. Two days later, a Spanish warship freed the woman, Evelyne Colombo, in the Gulf of Aden while also capturing seven pirates.

A source close to the family told AFP that 55-year-old Christian Colombo was killed during the initial attack on his vessel, and his body was thrown overboard. A German warship found Tribal Kat adrift in waters off Yemen on Thursday, after Colombo broadcast a Mayday appeal.

The news site said there were signs of struggle, including bullet holes and blood stains on the boat. That prompted commanders from the EU’s anti-piracy naval task force to launch and air and sea search for attackers.

A French frigate detected a skiff on Saturday, which was chased down by the Spanish warship SPS Galicia. After the skiff ignored orders to stop, Galicia fired on it, realising that Evelyne Colombo was aboard. Crew members then stormed the skiff, rescued Colombo, and arrested the pirates.

"The amphibious ship proceeded to intercept the pirate vessel,” said the Spanish Ministry of Defence in a statement. “The operation involved a helicopter and naval warfare team, who fired on the engine of the boat, to disable it."

A statement from Operation Atalanta, the EU's counter-piracy task force in the region, said that Christian Colombo “is believed to have been killed when the suspects boarded the yacht." A source close to the search said authorities were trying to find Colombo’s body.

Christian Colombo was a former French navy crewman. The couple, experienced sailors, were passing through the Gulf of Aden for the Indian Ocean on their way to Thailand. "They knew they were taking a risk and everyone advised them not to go," a relative told AFP.

According to the watchdog Ecoterra, at least 50 vessels and at least 528 hostages are being held by Somali pirates, despite constant patrols by warships from several world powers.

A seven-member crew of a Danish-flagged yacht, including five family members, was recently released after a purported US$3m ransom was paid. Another yacht was reported missing about the same time as Tribal Kat issued its Mayday alert.

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