Kidnapped backpackers begin trek to freedom

Five backpackers have begun their final trek to freedom in the jungle-covered mountains of northern Colombia after three months in captivity, a member of a humanitarian mission said today.

The five – four Israelis and one Briton – were heading to an undisclosed location in the Sierra Nevada mountains where they are expected to be released by their rebel captors this week, said Cesar Velasquez, a member of the commission which has been negotiating their release.