US Navy misses chance to rescue skipper

A young French yachtsman was shot dead yesterday when French commandos stormed his vessel off Somalia, releasing his wife and three-year-old son and another couple who had been held captive by Somali pirates.

President Sarkozy offered condolences as the violent death of Florent Lemaçon, 28, a computer programmer from Brittany, stirred emotion in France: the family’s travels had been followed by many in the country on their internet blog.

Mr Sarkozy ordered the assault, the seventh in a year by French forces against Somali pirates, a week after the Tanit, the Lemaçon’s elderly 36ft (11m) craft, was seized about 400 miles off the Somali coast.

A naval vessel and helicopters had been tracking the Tanit. Paris offered an unspecified ransom but told the five pirates on board that they would not be allowed to reach the coast, Hervé Morin, the Defence Minister, said. Negotiations failed when the pirates demanded an excessive sum.

The attack began when sharpshooters in helicopters killed the three pirates in the open cockpit instantly. Then followed a gunbattle with the two Somalis who were holding Chloé Lemaçon, Colin, the couple’s son, and the two friends who had joined them to sail through the dangerous Red Sea and Indian Ocean.

Mr Lemaçon was shot in the cramped cabin as commandos fought their way in from the cockpit. It was not yet known whether he was killed by the pirates or was caught in crossfire.

Two pirates were captured in the operation, which lasted six minutes, Mr Morin said.

The rescued captives were on their way to Djibouti last night. Their vessel, which had been disabled when French forces shredded the sails with gunfire, was being towed to Djibouti.

Mr Lemaçon’s death was the first in three operations in the past year to rescue French hostages.

A statement from Mr Sarkozy’s office said “a hostage sadly died”. But it emphasised the President’s “determination not to give into blackmail and to defeat the pirates”.

The Government criticised Chloé and Florent Lemaçon for ignoring advice to steer well clear of Somalia.

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