The gas plant at Amenas is giving up its secrets as Algerian special forces picking their way through the vast complex find dozens of bodies, some charred beyond recognition in the bloody end-game to one of the worst hostage crises in years.

Family and friends of an Irishman who escaped the Algerian hostage crisis are today preparing to welcome him home.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has said the Irish man held captive in Algeria has contacted his family to tell them he is “safe and well” and is no longer a hostage.

Security forces in Algeria have surrounded Islamist fighters who killed two people and have taken 41 foreign hostages, including one Irishman.

An Irishman is among up to 41 oil workers believed to have been kidnapped by al Qaeda-affiliated group at a gas field in Algeria.