Two sailors found dead on yacht in Indian Ocean during voyage from Reunion to South Africa

Indian Ocean: Two sailors, 67-year-old Deirdre Sibly and Frenchman Pascal Mahe were found dead on their yacht as they were sailing from Reunion Island to Durban, South Africa on Thursday.

Sibly, an Australian of Port Lincoln and Pascal Mahe, a French national, both highly experienced cruisers, were discovered dead on Thursday, November 27, aboard their 50-foot Acteon yacht while sailing between Madagascar and Mozambique, off Africa’s southeast coast in the Indian Ocean.

After a cargo ship in the Mozambique Channel, around 200 miles northeast of Beira, Mozambique  received a distress call on Thursday, from the yacht that also alerted the French authorities as the yacht was registered in France.

According to Sue Good, Sibly’s sister upon receiving the distress the cargo ship reportedly attempted to go aboard the yacht but all efforts were unsuccessful before other two additional vessels arrived on the scene on Friday, around 10a.m. to rescue the two aboard.

Although, upon embarking onto the 50-footer Acteon yacht that morning, they discovered the couple who had been sailing since early June deceased.

With the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade authorities confirming the news of their death, as investigations into their deaths are still ongoing.

Various members in the online community have speculated that the couple may have  died due to piracy. As the Gulf of Aden has been known to be a high risk area for over two decades with many hijacking and deaths reported through the Mozambique channel.

Information that Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have not confirmed, as they had their hands tied assisting another family of an Australian that had gone missing in the Mozambique channel.

Numerous hijackings, kidnappings, and killing incidents have been reported in the channel throughout the years, with some stating that there are Somali pirates in the waters targeting yachts, over the past years.

Some of the high profile captures being in 2009, the Chandlers who were kidnapped from their yacht in Seychelles and released in 2011. While following their release 4 American sailors were hijacked and killed as they were off the coast of Oman.