RIGA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Commandos from Latvia's special operations unit in cooperation with the armed forces and border guards this week freed a man who was held hostage onboard a yacht in the Baltic Sea, the law enforcement authorities informed on Friday.
The Latvian state police were alerted to the kidnapping of a 53-year-old man on Wednesday after the kidnapped, who was being held on a yacht in the Gulf of Riga, had managed to contact his relatives by phone who in turn called the police.
A major operation was mounted to deal with the hostage crisis at sea. Given the seriousness of the situation, Omega counterterrorism unit, regular army troops and border guards were involved in the operation in which the kidnapped man was successfully freed and his kidnapper apprehended, police officials said.
A military helicopter and several ships were also dispatched to the scene to help with the rescue operation.
The kidnapper, a 47-year-old man, has no previous criminal record, police said without giving his motives for taking his acquaintance hostage.
