( dpa ) - A man who had been kidnapped by leftist rebels in Colombia escaped in a rural area in the north-western province of Antioquia, police said Tuesday.
The engineer Alberto Ruiz had been kidnapped on January 11, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had already contacted his family to demand 100 million pesos (some 52,000 dollars) in ransom.
However, he made the most of his chance during a raid by anti- narcotics police near the place where he was being kept, in the municipality of Nechi, and ran away.
Only days ago, the peasant Ricardo Correa managed to escape from FARC seven days after being kidnapped on January 23, in the northeastern province of Norte de Santander.
Colombian authorities estimate that FARC holds some 770 people hostage, most of them for ransom.
The rebels have sought to exchange some 40 of these hostages for at least 500 imprisoned members of FARC, including two who have been extradited to the United States. Among the hostages with political relevance are three US contractors and several Colombian politicians, soldiers and police officers.