ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday said efforts were underway to repatriate bodies of Pakistani crew members and survivors of an operation to free an oil tanker, MT Honour 25, which was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia five months ago.

The Palau-flagged MT Honour 25 was seized off Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region on April 21 with 17 people aboard, including 10 Pakistanis. Three Pakistani sailors among five crew members were subsequently killed by the pirates.

After securing the vessel, the maritime police in the Puntland autonomous region of Somalia said on Tuesday the five crew members had been killed before Puntland forces began their operation to free the oil tanker.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that it was saddened by the tragic loss of the crew members, confirming that the deceased included three Pakistani nationals: Rafi Ullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmed Ansari.

“Four crew members were also injured, including three Pakistani nationals. The injured have been taken to a nearby hospital and are receiving medical care. The surviving crew members of MT Honour 25 have been brought safely ashore at Bandar Beyla,” it said, adding that Pakistani officials at the embassy in Djibouti were proceeding to Bandar Beyla to assist these Pakistani nationals.

“Every possible effort is being made to ensure proper medical care for the injured, facilitate the transportation of the mortal remains of the deceased, and ensure the safe return of the surviving Pakistani crew members.”

The Puntland Maritime Police Force said an Indian and a Myanmar national had also been killed by the pirates. They force did not identify the dead or say precisely when they were killed, beyond stating that the deaths occurred before its operation began.

“The vessel is now safe and under Puntland Government control,” the force said in an X post on Tuesday, adding that 21 suspected pirates had been apprehended and a search for others was continuing.

The operation followed Puntland’s recovery last week of the SIBU 1, another tanker seized by pirates. Before Tuesday’s operation, people identified as crew members of MT Honour 25 had warned a Pakistani welfare group that their captors were threatening to kill hostages if security forces tried to retake the vessel.