North-East man freed from hostage crisis, as Prime Minister confirms three Britons dead (From The Northern Echo)
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North-East man freed from hostage crisis, as Prime Minister confirms three Britons dead
5:00pm Sunday 20th January 2013 in News
Peter Hunter, from Durham, who is now free
A NORTH-EAST worker is among those freed from the Algerian hostage crisis, it has emerged, as the Prime Minister confirmed that three British nationals have died and three more are feared dead.
Peter Hunter, 53, from Durham, is among the workers flown home following the end of four-day stand-off in the desert.
David Cameron, speaking at Chequers today, said that a UK resident had also been killed in the incident, which dramatically came to an end yesterday.
He said that the priority now was to get the surviving hostages home from Algeria.
"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," he said.
The Foreign Office said that the figures announced by the Prime Minister included the Briton killed on Wednesday in the initial raid by Islamist militants.
The family of Darren Matthews, from Loftus, east Cleveland, who was among a group of workers who fled the In Anemas plant on Friday, have issued a statement.
They said: “We have been extremely worried about Darren and we are pleased and relieved to learn that he is safe and well. We look forward to having him home soon.
"We ask that the media respect our privacy at this difficult time.”
