Tuam man attacked by pirates of the Caribbean

A Tuam man living in Spain has spoken about the horror he experienced by being attacked by pirates of the Caribbean . . . literally.

“There is no logical reason why we are still alive”, declared Alan Egan from Killaloonty, Tuam after the boat in which he was a passenger was hijacked by pirates as it sailed between Venezuela towards Trinidad.

It was an experience that Alan, son of former Coca Cola manager Sean Egan, will never forget as he and his two Spanish friends were beaten, tied up and then robbed at gunpoint on the high seas.

And he declared that it is a part of the world where he will never return. “People don’t leave their homes and are afraid to walk the streets. I just couldn’t live in such a place”, he said.

Even before the boat trip, Alan felt distinctly uneasy while walking around the northern Venezuela city of Caracas. “People were stopping us in the street and telling us that we could be shot on sight”, he said.

Alan, a teacher in Leon, Spain, was on holiday with doctor Carlos Lorenzana from Gijón and boat maker Alberto Pérez from Madrid – a holiday that turned into something of a nightmare.

Alberto was bringing a boat to Trinidad to meet a purchaser and Alan and Carlos decided to tag along for the journey which would have taken several days to complete.

They were sailing off the coast of Venezuela when they were attacked by a group of pirates who boarded their vessel when they were two days out at sea.

See full story in this week's Connacht Tribune.