| protean |
Posted
on 28-Oct-02 07:17 PM
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_698422.html
Kidnapped climber in hiding after escape bid
British climber Stevie Haston and his French wife have escaped from Maoist rebels in Nepal and are in hiding awaiting an army rescue attempt.
The couple, together with other members of their expedition, had hoped to be airlifted to safety.
However, bad weather means the attempt has been delayed until Tuesday.
The 11-strong group apparently fooled their heavily armed rebel captors by asking for permission to go further up the mountain to set up a camp while they waited for their colleagues to return with the ransom money.
Once out of sight they doubled back, making a perilous descent using an alternative route to bypass the rebel troops.
Haston, his wife and 11 members of the Slovenian Janak '02 expedition were seized by the armed gunmen while trying to climb Nepal's Wedge Peak.
Expedition spokesman Predir Lima, said: "They tricked the rebels. They promised that the money was on the way, then when they were allowed to go up the mountain to set up camp, doubled back."
Londoner Haston, 45, once described by the Guardian newspaper as "the best climber Britain has ever produced", has conquered peaks around the world including Mount Everest and Pakistan's Nanga Parbat.
The Slovenian press agency STA said the climbers were seized at a height of over 16,404 foot by the heavily armed rebels.
Expedition spokesman Gregor Kresal said the rebels had demanded $7,000 dollars in ransom for their release.
Story filed: 15:11 Monday 28th October 2002
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