A LINCOLNSHIRE man is among those to have escaped the four-day Algerian hostage crisis – which came to a dramatic end on Saturday.
BP engineering team leader Lou Fear, 56, of Little Tathwell, near Louth – who helped to build the Saharan gas plant nine years ago – was among the lucky 792 hostages to have got away from the Al Qaeda-linked captors.
It is understood Mr Fear trekked for many miles through the desert before being picked up by Algerian forces.
Their repeated assaults on the compound distracted the kidnappers and gave some of the hostages the chance to slip away.
Unfortunately, many of Mr Fear's colleagues were not so lucky.
The Algerian interior ministry has confirmed that, in total, 32 kidnappers and 23 captives died in the siege, which began on Wednesday.
Three Britons have been confirmed as being among the dead and it is feared three more may also have been killed. However, despite his ordeal, Mr Fear told Algerian TV that he planned to return to the country.
He said: "We like the Algerian people – we come here, we train them, and we feel very sorry this has happened to your country as well.
"We're the people who built this plant. We'll come back."
He was flown back to the UK on one of the Government and BP chartered flights and was immediately reunited with his family.
A neighbour of Mr and Mrs Fear told how thankful the community is that he has returned to the UK safely.
Lucy Jones, 25, of Lodge Lane, Tathwell, said: "We are very thankful he is OK and glad he was freed. It must have been a terrible situation.
"We all hope he is OK and gets back home safely."
She added: "We see them usually when we are out walking the dogs. They are a friendly family and often invite everyone round to their home for drinks at Christmas."
Mr Fear's hostage ordeal came to an end of Saturday, when seven workers were executed in a final, monstrous act of violence by their captors, as special forces soldiers stormed the desert complex in the hope of rescuing them.
Surrounded by Algerian special forces and with the SAS on stand-by, the terrorists then became increasingly desperate and were said to be contemplating suicide, raising fears they were about to blow up the BP plant.
It was at this point that the soldiers began what was described as their "final assault", which saw all 11 remaining militants – who had booby-trapped the complex with explosives – shot dead in a fierce gun battle.
French authorities said all their nationals were accounted for, Norway said six of its citizens were missing, while the Romanian government said one of its citizens was dead.
It is believed that 24 British workers caught up in the incident are now back in the UK and Prime Minister David Cameron said the priority was now to get the remaining surviving hostages home from Algeria.
He said: "I know the whole country will want to join with me in sending our sympathy and our condolences to the families who have undergone an absolutely dreadful ordeal."
Mr Cameron also vowed to "root out and defeat this terrorist scourge and those who encourage it".
The terror chief behind the attack is Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a 40-year-old one-eyed Algerian, dubbed the Marlboro Man because he funds terrorist activities by smuggling cigarettes.
Although the attack was masterminded by Belmokhtar, it was led by his close associate Abdul Rahman al Nigeri, an Arab from Niger also known as Abu Dujana.
According to the few details known about him, Nigeri, who is believed to be in his late 30s, joined the Algerian Group For Call And Combat (GSPC), which later changed its name to Al Qaeda In The Islamic Maghreb.
They originally said they wanted France to pull its troops out of neighbouring Mali, where a ground war is being fought against Islamist extremists.
But British security sources said the attack by the Signers In Blood militants would have been planned many weeks before France intervened.
Bob Dudley, BP Group Chief Executive, said: "While the situation has evolved, it may still be some time before we have the clarity we all desire.
"Our focus remains on our colleagues who we have not yet been able to locate and on supporting their families through a time of agonising uncertainty. BP is a company that cares about its people – this is a difficult and sad time for us all."
