Echorouk among distressed family of hijacked Algerian seafarer Djamel Melouani in Hammam Melouane
Echorouk's reporters sent on an assignment mission, have visited the home of seamen Djamel Melouani who was hijacked together with 16 other Algerians on board an Algerian-flagged cargo ship off Oman's coast in the Indian Ocean by Somali pirates last Saturday.
- Seaman Djamel Melouani was born on September 1966 and his family lives in the locality of Hammam Malouane and was visited yesterday by Echorouk’s reporters who wanted to inquire about Djamel’s close relatives after the sad hijacking event.
- Echorouk’s reporters found them under a state of shock especially Djamel’s 70-year old mother Khalti Messaouda who could not stomach the hapless fate which befell his son together with his 16 other colleagues on board their seized cargo ship.
- His brother Mohamed told us that Djamel had spent with them the Aïd El Adha feast before returning to work on the Blida cargo ship.
- He told them that he would be back home in Hammam Melouane at the end his current sea journey by the end of the month of January 2011.
- He added that he had received recently several SMS messages on his mobile phone from his brother Djamel saying that he was fine and urged him to take well care of their old mother in anticipation of his return home.
- Since then, there has been no message from the seaman until the announcement last Saturday of the capture of the Blida cargo ship by the Somali pirates.
- According to his old mother, Djamel Melouani was getting ready to get married in the next few months but fate decided otherwise.
- She implored Allah Almighty to bring him back home together with all his seafaring colleagues safe and sound.