Task: Question Answering
Input (English): Passage: In 1509, Diogo Lopes de Sequeira was sent to Malacca by the king of Portugal with four ships in order to establish contact with the Sultanate of Malacca. Initially, Sequeira was well received by the Sultan Mahmud Syah . Soon however, the Muslim community convinced Mahmud Syah that the Portuguese should be eliminated. Several men were captured and killed, but the ships escaped. Albuquerque first departed from India for Malacca in April 1511, with 1,200 men and 17 to 18 ships. Albuquerque's objective was to sever Islamic trade and Venetian trade on the same occasion.A first attack by the Portuguese failed on 25 July 1511. Albuquerque's captains spoke against another attempt, but he struck again, succeeding in capturing Malacca in August, despite strong resistance and the presence of artillery on the Malaccan side. In celebration, Tristão da Cunha was sent to Pope Leo X in Rome with rich presents including the elephant that the pope named Hanno. 
Question: How many ships were able to escape? 
Answer type: Number 
Output (English): 4.