Hostage escapes after 8 years in jungle of Columbia

Hostage escapes after 8 years in jungle
Story Highlights
Oscar Tulio Lizcano was kidnapped August 4, 2000 by Colombian leftist rebels

The ex-congressman fled about three days ago with help from one of his captors

The FARC holds an estimated 750 hostages in Colombia



BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- A former Colombian congressman who was held hostage in the jungle for more than eight years has escaped -- with the help of a former captor.

Oscar Tulio Lizcano, his hair disheveled, appeared too weak to stand for long when he met the news media Sunday, hours after stumbling onto a military patrol -- and freedom.

Lizcano suffered from hunger and disease in captivity and endured isolation in the company of leftist rebels who often would not let him talk, he and Colombian authorities said.

"Maybe my incoherence is for a lack of speaking," Lizcano told reporters. "I was unable to talk with the guerillas who guarded me."

Lizcano said he had little to read in the jungle except "The Odyssey" by Homer. He suffered from malaria and other illnesses and once ate nothing but hearts of palm for six or seven days, said Juan Manuel Santos, the Colombian defense minister.

"This is big news for the whole family," said Lizcano's sister, Amparo Lizcano. "We were waiting for the guerrillas to give our brother back alive before he died."
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/10/27/hostage.escape/index.html