Dimitris Giatis, 20, the Greek sailor who along with three other crew members was kidnapped by a group of pirates from a Greek-owned oil tanker “Elka Aristotle” off the coast of Togo in Africa in November of 2019, talked about his 40-day ordeal on Greek TV.

Dimitris in his interview on show “Mazi Sou”, said what kept him going while being captive in the jungles of Africa was his faith in God and constant prayers.

The 20-year-old Greek sailor was released on December 13, 2019, along with his two other colleagues, one from the Philippines and one from Georgia, and returned to Greece on the night of December 14, 2019.

“I saw a man pointing a gun at my head. At that time you do not think. I was very scared,” he said. “They put us in a wooden boat that had a motor. There were no lifejackets. Nine heavily-armed pirates were on board, and there were four of us. We were four days at sea.”

“All the days we were there, we prayed, regardless of religion. We were in a miserable state. I was getting strength. Thanks to prayer, I tried and survived,” the20-year-old sailor revealed unable to restrain himself when he talked about the fourth hostage by the Philippines, suffering from malaria. “He died in our hands.”