Freed US hostages healthy, united with families in US (2nd Roundup)

Jul 3, 2008, 21:06 GMT

Washington - The three US nationals held captive for five years by leftist rebels in Colombia were in good physical and mental condition Thursday as they held emotional reunions with family members back in the United States, doctors said.

Thomas Howes, Keith Stansell and Marc Gonsalves were brought back from Colombia by military plane late Wednesday night after being rescued along with 12 other hostages including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt.

The three men were taken to an Army hospital near San Antonio, Texas for treatment. Doctors said they were still awaiting the results of a number of tests, but the three appeared in good health and carried no infectious diseases.

'I'm happy to report that they are all in very good physical condition, very strong,' Colonel Jackie Hayes, the lead physician at Brooke Army Medical Center, said in a press conference. 'They're in great spirits. Everything looks good at this point in time.'

The three were kidnapped by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)in February 2003 after their plane crashed during a reconnaissance mission in southern Colombia.

Stansell had already held a private reunion with his two children and parents on Thursday, the military said, while the other two were due to unite with family members later in the day.

'I was always hopeful that this day would happen. It seemed like a miracle that this day would happen and now it's happening,' George Gonsalves, Marc's father, told US broadcaster CNN.

All three had previously been believed in poor health as a result of injuries suffered from the crash and from tropical diseases contracted during their time in captivity, according to the accounts of another FARC hostages that had been released earlier this year.

Television footage showed the three walking off the military plane from Colombia under their own power Wednesday night.

'They greeted me with a strong handshake and clear eyes and an incredible smile,' said Major General Keith Huber, commander of US Army South, the military division responsible for the group's care and debriefing.

Howes, Stansell and Gonsalves had been under contract with the US Department of Defence and were assisting in Colombian anti-drug operations in the volatile region when their plane went down. It remains unknown whether the crash was due to a mechanical failure or if the plane was brought down by FARC.

Also with them at the time were fellow-US citizen Thomas Janis and Colombian Army sergeant Luis Alcides Cruz, both of whom were reportedly executed by the rebels soon after the crash.

The three contractors were freed on Wednesday, along with Betancourt and 11 others, as part of a rescue operation by Colombian forces that had been planned with some help from the US military.

Undercover Colombian soldiers tricked rebels into allowing the 15 hostages to board a military plane, which promptly took them out of the jungle.

US President George W Bush was told of the successful operation in a telephone call Wednesday night with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. On Thursday he congratulated Uribe and Colombia's military on the rescue.

'I told (Uribe) what a joyous occasion it must be to know that the plan had worked, that people who were unjustly held were now free to be with their families,' Bush said.

The three contractors worked for California Microwave Systems, a subsidiary of defence giant Northrop Grumman, which said it was 'extremely pleased' its employees were free and looked forward to seeing them return to their families.