Fishermen's fears linger after ordeal

Crew members held hostage by Somali pirates for 19 months finally go home

To celebrate his homecoming on Wednesday morning, the family of Zhang Leilei followed Chinese tradition by setting off firecrackers. But the sound only reminded the fisherman of gunshots in the pirates' boat, and made him tremble.

The 30-year-old still suffers from the effects of being held hostage by Somali pirates for 19 months in Africa.

The native of Ruzhou, Central China's Henan province, was among 26 crew members on the trawler, Xu Fu 1, that was released by Somali pirates on July 17. The Taiwan ship employed 13 fishermen from the mainland, one from Taiwan and 12 from Vietnam.

The ship was hijacked by Somali pirates in late December 2010 while fishing off the coast of Madagascar.

Even though he is now at home, Zhang cannot forget the fear from his ordeal.