Bulgarian Hostages Released by Houthis Arrive in Sofia

The two Bulgarian crew members of the hijacked Galaxy Leader, released by Yemen's Houthis on Wednesday after more than a year, returned home on Thursday. Captain Lyubomir Chanev and First Officer Danail Veselinov arrived in Sofia aboard the government airplane, which was sent to pick them up from Muscat, Oman, by order of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.

Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev travelled to Oman aboard the plane to bring the Bulgarian sailors home. At Sofia Airport, they were welcomed by their relatives.

The Galaxy Leader was seized by the Houthis off the coast of Yemen in November 2023. The British-owned, Japanese-operated and Bahamas-flagged ship had a crew of 25 from several countries, including two Bulgarian citizens. Efforts followed to have the crew members released. On Wednesday, the Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV reported, as quoted by Reuters, that Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have released the crew and handed them to Oman "in coordination" with the three-day-old ceasefire in Gaza's war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. The information was later confirmed by the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.