A DANISH FAMILY including three children have been kidnapped by pirates who seized their sailing boat in the Indian Ocean last week, it has been reported today.

The Danish government announced that the incident happened last Thursday with two crew members also captured during the attack, according to the BBC.

The pirates who seized the boat are said to be heading for Somalia where piracy is a highly lucrative trade. Gangs can often demand millions of dollars in ransoms.

The Copenhagen Post reports that the three children are aged 13, 15, and 17, with the oldest writing a blog last Tuesday in which he said the family were halfway between the Maldives and the Arabian Sea and that everything was normal.

The ship managed to send a distress signal during the attack and the Danish warship ‘Esbern Snare’ is heading for the area, 300 kilometres off  the Somali coast.

The EU’s anti-piracy naval force said last week that pirates were holding a total of 31 vessels and 668 hostages.

They reported only yesterday that a cargo vessel carrying a crew of 23 was hijacked in the North Arabian sea with no information on their condition so far forthcoming from the pirates.

Last week, four Americans kidnapped by Somalian pirates were shot dead as US forces attempted to rescue them.