British Yachtsmen Held for a Week Freed by Iran

Five British yachtsmen held by Iran's Revolutionary Guard for a week have been freed, the UK Foreign Office has confirmed. They are said to have drifted into Iranian waters mistakenly while sailing from Bahrain to Dubai for a race. Iranian radio said they had been freed at 0730 local time (0400 GMT). It is thought they were held on Siri island. A statement by the Revolutionary Guard said interrogations had revealed their "illegal entry" had been "a mistake". Luke Porter, 21, from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, Oliver Smith, 31, from Southampton, Oliver Young, 21, from Saltash, Cornwall, Sam Usher, 26, from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, and Bahrain-based David Bloomer, who is believed to be in his 60s, were held on 25 November. Iran's official IRNA news agency said the five had been freed after an interrogation by authorities established that their yacht had entered Iranian waters "by mistake". A statement by Iran's Revolutionary Guard said: "After carrying out an investigation and interrogation of the five British sailors, it became clear that their illegal entry was a mistake. "After obtaining necessary guarantees, it was decided to release them." BBC correspondent Christian Fraser, in Bahrain, said he had spoken to Vanessa Bloomer, Mr Bloomer's wife, who said she had received no independent verification of the men's release. Our correspondent added there was still a lot of uncertainty about what was happening. The family of Mr Young also told the BBC that they had not heard anything officially but were keeping their fingers crossed and would go ahead with the previously-arranged plans to meet with Foreign Office officials in London. David Young, Oliver's father, said he was "very relieved, obviously".He added: "We thought this would be over quickly, and this is what we were hoping for." Simon Drayton, brother of Sam Usher's fiancee, Nicola Drayton, added: "We are frantically trying to find out if it is true or not. We hope to God it is." Andrew Pindar from Team Pindar, which was due to race the yacht the men were taken in, told the BBC that he was hopeful the reports were accurate. He said: "I've had a call from Dubai this morning which suggests that the Iranian news release probably is true. "I don't want to get carried away because until we see them safely in international waters it would be premature to count our blessings, but it does sound like they're on their way to safety." The news comes hours after UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband spoke by phone to his Iranian counterpart. The five were detained after the Revolutionary Guard stopped their Volvo 60 yacht, called The Kingdom of Bahrain, in the Gulf on 25 November.