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Search for 8 kidnapped tourists
BOGOTA, Colombia -- Troops, police and helicopters were scouring jungle in the Sierra Nevada area of Colombia after eight Western tourists were kidnapped by suspected Marxist rebels. About 1,500 troops and police, supported by Black Hawk helicopters, were searching the Tayrona national park in the northeast of the country after the kidnapping early Friday. The tourists include four Israelis, two Britons, a German and a Spaniard. They were taken while camping in cabins near an archeological site in The Lost City, known as "Ciudad Perdida" in Spanish. Others in their group of 15, including tourist guides, were left with their hands and feet bound in a hut but managed to escape and alert authorities. Only the fittest or best equipped appear to have been taken. British and Israeli authorities are set to travel to the region, and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has pledged all efforts are being made to find the group. One victim who escaped said the attackers, believed to be from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), were "calm and polite." Despite the guns and threats, Ran Atzmon told Israeli TV Channel 10 that the kidnappers were gentle -- "extremely polite, quiet and well ordered." In an interview with Israeli Army Radio, he said his group was awakened at 5 a.m. by armed men whose "weapons were pointed at us" and who ordered them to wear hiking shoes rather than sandals. "We were ordered to take the minimum equipment, without sleeping bags, to do it as fast as possible." Atzmon, as well as an Australian couple and a Dutchman, were set aside by the kidnappers and left in the hut. The released Dutchman, Mathijs Grote Beverborg, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying: "I only later realized how lucky I was." Only a small percentage of the estimated 2,000 people kidnapped by the FARC each year are ever rescued and most are only released after a ransom is paid. Their victims report forced marches lasting days as they are shuttled between malarial jungle prisons. FARC currently holds three U.S. military contractors and dozens of Colombian politicians, police and soldiers whom it wants to exchange for imprisoned rebels. CNN's Karl Penhaul said FARC could either seek ransom from the families of the hostages or use the hostages to try to gain international recognition. The Lost City, a four-day difficult hike through thick jungle from the nearest road, is a collection of raised stone platforms spread over several miles. It rises to about 19,000 feet above sea level and was only discovered in the 1970s. It is believed to have been built about 500 B.C. by the Tayrona Indian people. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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