BOGOTA, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Five tourists who have been held hostage by rebels in Colombia's dense jungles since September will be freed, probably on Monday, a negotiator said Sunday.
The four Israelis and a British man will be flown out of the jungle by helicopter Monday, Monsignor Hector Fabio Henao told the BBC.
The five were among eight tourists seized by the National Liberation Army while hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains. One escaped shortly after capture and two others were released earlier.
Henao said he would join a team traveling to Colombia's northern Caribbean coast late Sunday to facilitate the hostages' release.
Henao told the BBC the rebels would not reveal where they are holding the hostages until the helicopters are in the air.
The 5,000-member National Liberation Army had wanted the Colombian military to hold off attacks during the transfer, the BBC said, and the government's refusal nevertheless did not stop the transfer.
