A fishing outing just off Ela Beach yesterday has unfortunately turned fatal for a family.
A father, his brother and three young sons were held up by sea pirates around 7pm.
The uncle and the older of the boys, an eight-year-old escaped their captors. Unfortunately the father was later found dead by a search party who had been alerted by the eight-year-old.
The two younger boys who happened to be twins were also found abandoned in the dingy.
It is believed the captors escaped with the motor.
The group, as they often have done, went fishing beside the Paga Hill Ring Road.
At around 7pm yesterday, just when they were collecting their catch, they were approached by 10 men with the intention of stealing their boat’s engine.
The group crashed into their boat and started throwing stones and swinging bush knives at them. After the attack, they were taken further out to sea.
Two of the men being attacked jumped off the boat leaving the three children alone with the pirates. The eight-year-old later jumped off the boat and bravely swum back to Ela Beach to alert police.
Police responded, but watched helplessly in their vehicle, as the pirates escaped. 12 boats had been involved in the search of the body since last night.
The body was retrieved at 2.30pm this afternoon, and was taken by the police forensic unit. Sea piracy has become a norm in Port Moresby, where every two weeks an incident is being reported.
These continual incidents call for the need for Port Moresby and other coastal provinces throughout the country to have police boats.
