ROME – The 19 Europeans and Egyptians kidnapped in the Sahara were not rescued in a military operation but were released by their captors and driven to safety by their Egyptian tour guides, the freed Italians said yesterday.
Apparently contradicting earlier comments by officials about a rescue and recovery operation and a gunfight, the Italian hostages said they did not hear a shot, but were given a jeep and satellite navigator and told they were free.
The five Italians, five Germans, one Romanian and eight Egyptians were on a desert safari in Egypt when they were seized by what they estimated to be 40 masked gunmen, who took them over the border into Sudan and demanded a ransom.
“Shots? We didn’t hear any,” 70-year-old Mirella De Giuli told reporters upon arriving home in Turin. “We put our trust in God and drove in the desert for five or six hours, with no spare tyre and very little water. If we made a mistake, we would die.” They made it back into Egypt and spotted two armed men.
“First we feared they could be more kidnappers but luckily they were Egyptian soldiers and we realised it was all finally over,” said 68-year-old Walter Barotto.
Officials in Egypt gave scant and contradictory details about the release. On Monday, Egyptian officials said they had been freed in an operation in which some of their kidnappers were killed. – (Reuters)