Captured Spanish fisherman believes freedom nearer

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish fishermen being held captive by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean believe a deal has been struck to secure their freedom.

Ricardo Blach, first mate of the Basque tuna boat Alakrana, said he understood the Spanish government had agreed to send two suspected Somali pirates back to their own country in exchange for the crew's release.

The Spanish navy captured the two Somalis soon after pirates overran the Alakrana on October 2 and took its 36 crew hostage. They are set to face trial in Spain for kidnapping.

"It seems almost certain that they are going to send the (captured) pirates here," Ricardo Blach, said in comments on Spanish state radio on Monday. "We don't know when, whether tomorrow or in a week but it seems that they are going to send them back."

"We want to believe it, good news, even if it's clutching at straws, because of the tension we have here."

The pirates holding the crew have said they would not negotiate a ransom for their release until Spanish authorities freed their two colleagues.

"In the morning (on Sunday), they were telling us in signs that they were going to cut our throats. Now the head of the pirates is smiling," Blach said in separate comments to the Spanish daily El Mundo.

No one was immediately available at Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's office to comment on the reports.

But Environment Minister Elena Espinosa told state television the government was exploring various options.