PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria - Foreign oil workers among 19 hostages freed by Nigeria's military described a "shocking" ordeal on Thursday, while an official said no ransom was paid for their release.
The military freed the 19 hostages in an operation on Wednesday in the Niger Delta region, the heart of one of the world's largest oil industries. The victims included American, French, Indonesian, Canadian and Nigerian nationals.
The hostages were presented to journalists on Thursday; with the military saying they had been rescued from a militant camp, and appeared in relatively good health.
A Canadian hostage nursing a gunshot wound to his foot which he said resulted from a ricocheted bullet said the men saved rainwater for washing and drinking.
"It's a shocking experience and I wouldn't want anybody to ever go through such a thing," said Robert Croke, who was abducted in a raid on a support vessel and Transocean-owned oil rig last week.
An American oil worker taken in the same raid as Croke in the early hours of November 8 said the crisis was "like being in a prison".
GlobalNews
