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Hostage Survival

Nick Hitch, a civil engineer and experienced project manager, is caught up in a violent hostage crisis in Algeria making massive demands on his capacity to endure and survive.

In 2013 Nick Hitch found himself at the heart of a violent attack on a Gas facility in Eastern Algeria. It was later revealed that the militiamen were affiliated to Al-Qaeda. As a senior project manager Nick was deliberately targeted, threatened with execution, forced along with his colleagues to sit for hours in fear of detonating explosives to which they had been attached, and ultimately packed into a vehicle alongside a man with a crude suicide bomb on his knee.
Thirty-nine foreign workers died during the attack, several of them Nick's close colleagues.
Talking to Dr Sian Williams, he describes how the attack unfolded, how the challenges affected and continue to affect him, and how he has sought to put his horrific experience at the service of others who have faced similar trauma.

Producer: Tom Alban

Anyone affected by any of the issues described in this programme can find help and support at
www.hostageinternational.org

Release date:

28 minutes

On radio

Tomorrow 09:00

Broadcasts

  • Tomorrow 09:00
  • Friday 16:30

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