(CNN) -- A British couple kidnapped by pirates was released after more than a year in captivity, their family said in a statement Sunday, but would not comment on a reported ransom payment. 
 
 Paul and Rachel Chandler were seized from their yacht on October 23, 2009, just after they set sail from the Seychelles Islands for Tanzania. 
 
 The Chandlers landed in Kenya late Sunday afternoon, said Abdurraham Omar Osman, Somali government spokesman. The couple's family also confirmed their arrival. 
 
 "Throughout the protracted discussions with the pirates it has been a difficult task for the family to get across the message that these were two retired people on a sailing trip on a small private yacht and not part of a major commercial enterprise involving tens of millions of pounds of assets," said a statement issued by the couple's family. 
 
 "Thankfully, common sense prevailed and a solution was obtained for their release in the last few days. There will be the inevitable questions of how their release was achieved," the statement said. "The family believes it would be irresponsible to discuss any aspect of the release process, as this could encourage others to capture private individuals and demand large ransom payments, something that we are sure none of us wants." 
 
 A ransom of about $750,000 was paid for their release, local elders in Somalia said. They did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue. 
 
 The family statement Sunday said the Chandlers' relatives "would like to thank those in the Somali community especially, both locally and in the UK, who did so much to help secure their release." 
 
 "They are physically and mentally doing well, and excited to be alive," said Mohamed Aden, a local elder in Adado. "Paul and Rachel Chandler are safe and doing fine.They have had a good shower and they are eating breakfast." 
 
 Aden was one of the key elders involved in helping secure their release. 
 
 The couple is "in good spirits although very tired and exhausted," the family statement said. The two will have medical checks in Nairobi and then fly back to the United Kingdom, it said. 
 
 "We cannot yet be certain how the difficulties that they have had to endure in recent months will have affected them physically and emotionally," the family statement said. It asked that the couple be allowed time to readjust as they return to their family and friends. 
 
 "Paul and Rachel Chandler's release is tremendous news," British Prime Minister David Cameron said in a statement. "Their long captivity is over at last. We will ensure that they are reunited with their family as quickly as possible. I unreservedly condemn the actions of those that held the Chandlers for so long. Kidnapping is never justified. I am grateful to all those who have worked so hard to bring the Chandlers safely out." 
 
 Last year, Paul Chandler pleaded for their life in a two-minute video broadcast on Britain's Channel 4. He was surrounded by armed men pointing weapons at him. 
 
 At the time, Chandler said the captors could kill them if a $7 million ransom were not paid. 
 
 "We are concerned that these people will lose patience and will not feed us -- and I have no doubt that they will not hesitate to kill us, perhaps within a week or so of now if there is no response," he said. "So, please somebody get in touch. Otherwise we just sleepwalk to a tragic ending." 
 
 Last year, British officials have refused to pay a ransom or negotiate with pirates. Officials have said doing so would only encourage more kidnappings. 
 
 "The government will not make substantive concessions for hostage takers, including the payments of ransom," the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said in a statement. 
 
 Pirates have been very active off the east coast of Africa in the past several years, operating out of lawless Somalia. 
 
 It was unclear who paid the ransom, but a local elder told CNN that the Somali diaspora in England played a key role in raising the funds. 
 
 CNN's David McKenzie and Bharati Naik contributed to this report. ||||| Chandlers describe 'traumatic' beating from pirates 
 
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 A retired British couple who spent almost 400 days held hostage in Somalia have spoken of their "traumatic" time. 
 
 Paul and Rachel Chandler, kidnapped off their yacht near the Seychelles in October 2009, said they had been beaten when they refused to be separated. 
 
 "We were really distraught, we were very frightened at that point," Mrs Chandler, 56, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said after arriving safely in Kenya. 
 
 They said they had only the vaguest idea of how the rescue had come about. 
 
 Mr Chandler, 60, said they had been driven across Somalia, then were left locked in a car to sleep overnight. 
 
 "Just after dawn, about 7 o'clock, we were asked to leave and join our rescuer. It was hard to have any feelings really, almost disbelief, it was too good to be true," he said, having travelled from Adado, then to Mogadishu, and finally flying to Kenya. 
 
 Details of their onward journey back to the UK have not been released yet. 
 
 They were held in harsh conditions, with intense heat, in rural Somalia for 13 months. Mr Chandler said they were well, albeit "rather skinny and bony". Medical check-ups were available in Nairobi for them. 
 
 Yacht loss 
 
 The long-term effects of their ordeal are unknown, with their family back in the UK asking "that everyone gives them the opportunity to adjust and return to their families and friends in the days to come". 
 
 Both husband and wife - who are experienced sailors - said the worst time had been leaving their yacht, in which they had been sailing from the Seychelles towards Tanzania as part of a longer voyage. 
 
 "The worst time was when we had to abandon our home and boat... in the ocean," Mr Chandler said. 
 
 Mrs Chandler agreed, saying: "Abandoning [our yacht] Lynn Rival when we were taken on board the container ship and brought eventually on shore was the worst time. 
 
 "Another time that was very traumatic was when they decided to separate us. We were really distraught, we were very frightened at that point. We refused to be separated and we were beaten as a result. That was very traumatic." 
 
 Mrs Chandler said they had been told on Friday of their imminent freedom but remained doubtful it would happen. 
 
 She said it was the gang leader who told them the news, but "he was always telling us lies, from time to time, that we would be released. But we were hopeful as for the last few months we had heard so little". 
 
 Mr Chandler said they could not comment on any details about how the rescue was negotiated as they had only the "vaguest idea" of what had happened, having had "no communication since the middle of June with the outside world". 
 
 Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote Rachel seemed intermittently weary but rallied to give a bright and moving description of her elation, her enthusiasm for the people of Somalia, and her relief at no longer being surrounded by criminals” End Quote Andrew Harding BBC correspondent 
 
 Details were not released by the Chandler family in the UK, who issued a statement saying: "The family believes it would be irresponsible to discuss any aspect of the release process as this could encourage others to capture private individuals and demand large ransom payments, something that we are sure none of us wants." 
 
 Earlier this year their captors threatened to kill the couple if their demands for $7m (£4.4m) were not met. 
 
 A payment of about $430,000 (£267,000) was made to the pirates in June, but did not result in the release of the Chandlers. 
 
 Media speculation was thought to have influenced the pirates, and so the family opted for a super-injunction banning media coverage of the kidnap. 
 
 BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the ransom paid for their eventual release had been "the best part of $1 million". 
 
 Our correspondent said it was thought unlikely any of those responsible would be brought to justice in Somalia, a country without an effective government since 1991. 
 
 Government condemnation 
 
 The British government welcomed the news of the Chandlers' release, with Prime Minister David Cameron "unreservedly" condemning the captors. 
 
 "Kidnapping is never justified," he said. 
 
 Foreign Secretary William Hague reiterated the long-standing British policy of not paying ransoms. 
 
 "I think it is right that successive British governments have said we don't make concessions to hostage-takers. But it is also right to do everything else we have done in this case and that the previous government did. 
 
 "We have used our contacts in the region to try to gain information and to influence the hostage-takers. But no British government is going to start paying ransoms for hostages."
– The retired British couple who was released yesterday after a year held hostage by pirates who seized them as they sailed the ocean in their yacht opened up about their ordeal, saying one of their most difficult parts was being severely beaten when they refused to be separated during their captivity. "We were really distraught, we were very frightened at that point," said Rachel Chandler, 56. She and her husband were held in harsh conditions in intense heat in Somalia throughout their captivity. Paul Chandler said the two were still relatively healthy, though "rather skinny and bony," reports the BBC. Details of any ransom paid were not revealed, though it's believed to be close to $1 million. The pirates initially demanded $7 million for their release. A payment of some $430,000 last summer failed to free the couple. "Throughout the protracted discussions with the pirates it has been a difficult task for the family to get across the message that these were two retired people on a sailing trip on a small private yacht and not part of a major commercial enterprise involving tens of millions of pounds of assets," said a statement issued by the couple's family.