Eleven crew members of the hijacked freighter Arctic Sea, believed to be missing for over two weeks, arrived in Moscow on Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The other four crew members, led by the captain, remain on duty aboard the ship, the ministry said in a statement.

Investigators and suspected hijackers, together with the crew members, arrived at the Chkalovsky military airport outside Moscow in three Il-76 military planes from the Cape Verde islands, the Interfax news agency reported.

The Maltese-flagged merchant vessel, which left Finland for Algeria with a cargo of timber on July 22, made radio contact with British coast guards on July 28.

The Finnish-operated ship was found by a Russian warship Monday about 300 miles (480 km) off Cape Verde with 15 crew members and eight suspected hijackers on board.

Source:Xinhua