Monday, April 14, 2008
The former hostages were transferred in French helicopters to Djibouti, where France has its largest overseas military base, an AFP correspondent reported.
They were briefly greeted by Djiboutian officials before boarding a plane scheduled to touch down in Paris' Orly airport at around 1600 GMT.
The Elysee said Sarkozy would be at the airport to welcome them.
Le Ponant's 30 crew -- 22 French, six Filipinos, a Cameroonian and a Ukrainian -- were freed on Friday after a dramatic raid by French commandos.
Six hostage-takers were arrested as they tried to escape in a 4x4 vehicle, having gone ashore after releasing the crew members of the three-masted yacht for a ransom.
Somali officials and witnesses said three people were killed during the French operation, but the military in Paris denied any pirates were killed.
Source: AFP, April 14, 2008