Bulgarian sailors return home after being freed by Yemen's Houthis

24/1/2025 7:42

Two Bulgarian sailors and a Romanian crew member returned home after being held for 14 months by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, receiving a warm welcome from their families and officials at Sofia airport on Thursday.



The trio were part of the 25-member international crew of the vessel Galaxy Leader that the Houthis seized off Yemen's Red Sea coast more than a year ago.

They were released on Wednesday and handed to Oman following the three-day-old ceasefire in Gaza's war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV reported.



Captain Lyubomir Chanev and First Officer Danail Veselinov arrived in Sofia aboard a government airplane that was sent to pick them up from Muscat in Oman on the order of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, local media reported.