Hostages released shaken but unhurt yesterday by gunmen who stormed the Myanmar embassy here expressed relief, saying they felt they had been "reborn."
Officials quickly ushered them into waiting vans and drove them to a nearby hospital for medical checkups, before being questioned by police.
"We are very, very happy," said one man identified as Prasert, a Thai national who acted as mediator between the Burmese student captors and the hostages.
"It is like we were dead and have been reborn. Everybody is safe," he told reporters following the release of the last batch of 23 hostages.
They were among close to 40 people, including a number of foreigners, held for more than 24 hours, since a five-strong group calling itself the "Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors" took over the Myanmar embassy in downtown Bangkok, demanding political reform in Myanmar.
As they were handed over, the hostages were made to hold aloft red pro-democracy banners.
Officials said yesterday that there were 38 hostages held at gunpoint within the embassy building, while another 51 people were hiding in other buildings in the compound.
Minutes after the release an escape helicopter demanded by the gunmen took off from a military school compound in the central city carrying the five men, as well as Thai Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra and another official, who were apparently exchanged for the hostages.
Interior Minister Sanan Kachonprasart, smiling and looking relieved, later announced the group had released the minister and the official after landing about one kilometer from the Myanmar border in Ratchaburi province. A statement faxed earlier from inside the embassy said the attackers were willing to "die in action".
Thai officials earlier named 13 Myanmar diplomats who were believed to be among the hostages captured Friday but said ambassador Hla Maung and six other envoys were not there when it was stormed.
One Australian and three Frenchmen were confirmed by diplomats to have been among the hostages.
Police and officials here earlier said they believed those held hostage also included nationals from Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan. Some 15 to 20 Thais had also been inside the building, according to police.
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