Washington - The three US nationals held captive for five
years by leftist rebels in Colombia were in good physical and mental
condition Thursday as they held emotional reunions with family
members back in the United States, doctors said.
Thomas Howes, Keith Stansell and Marc Gonsalves were brought back
from Colombia by military plane late Wednesday night after being
rescued along with 12 other hostages including former presidential
candidate Ingrid Betancourt.
The three men were taken to an Army hospital near San Antonio,
Texas for treatment. Doctors said they were still awaiting the
results of a number of tests, but the three appeared in good health
and carried no infectious diseases.
'I'm happy to report that they are all in very good physical
condition, very strong,' Colonel Jackie Hayes, the lead physician at
Brooke Army Medical Center, said in a press conference. 'They're in
great spirits. Everything looks good at this point in time.'
The three were kidnapped by the leftist Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC)in February 2003 after their plane crashed
during a reconnaissance mission in southern Colombia.
Stansell had already held a private reunion with his two children
and parents on Thursday, the military said, while the other two were
due to unite with family members later in the day.
'I was always hopeful that this day would happen. It seemed like a
miracle that this day would happen and now it's happening,' George
Gonsalves, Marc's father, told US broadcaster CNN.
All three had previously been believed in poor health as a result
of injuries suffered from the crash and from tropical diseases
contracted during their time in captivity, according to the accounts
of another FARC hostages that had been released earlier this year.
Television footage showed the three walking off the military
plane from Colombia under their own power Wednesday night.
'They greeted me with a strong handshake and clear eyes and an
incredible smile,' said Major General Keith Huber, commander of US
Army South, the military division responsible for the group's care
and debriefing.
Howes, Stansell and Gonsalves had been under contract with the US
Department of Defence and were assisting in Colombian anti-drug
operations in the volatile region when their plane went down. It
remains unknown whether the crash was due to a mechanical failure or
if the plane was brought down by FARC.
Also with them at the time were fellow-US citizen Thomas Janis and
Colombian Army sergeant Luis Alcides Cruz, both of whom were
reportedly executed by the rebels soon after the crash.
The three contractors were freed on Wednesday, along with
Betancourt and 11 others, as part of a rescue operation by Colombian
forces that had been planned with some help from the US military.
Undercover Colombian soldiers tricked rebels into allowing the 15
hostages to board a military plane, which promptly took them out of
the jungle.
US President George W Bush was told of the successful operation in
a telephone call Wednesday night with Colombian President Alvaro
Uribe. On Thursday he congratulated Uribe and Colombia's military on
the rescue.
'I told (Uribe) what a joyous occasion it must be to know that the
plan had worked, that people who were unjustly held were now free to
be with their families,' Bush said.
The three contractors worked for California Microwave Systems, a
subsidiary of defence giant Northrop Grumman, which said it was
'extremely pleased' its employees were free and looked forward to
seeing them return to their families.
USA
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