Peru policeman found alive after 17 days in jungle
A rickshaw taxi drives past a graffiti reading “Freedom for Abimael Guzman” in a neighborhood in the south end of Lima on September 16, 2011. Abimael Guzman, 76, is the historic leader of the bloody Maoist group Shining Path and serves a life sentence for terrorism. Rebels reportedly from the Shining Path kidnapped at least a dozen gas workers on April 9, 2012.
A Peruvian policeman who went missing in the jungle for 17 days after being wounded in clashes with left-wing rebels has been reunited with his family.
Luis Astuqillca, 22, was part of a patrol searching for 36 gas workers kidnapped by Shining Path guerrillas which came under attack in the Alto Kepashiato area on April 12, according to the BBC.
He sustained bullet wounds to his thigh and one of his hands, but managed to escape with a second policeman, disappearing into the jungle for two and a half weeks before walking into the village of Pastoquiato on Sunday, Peru this week reports.
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No details are yet known as to how survived his ordeal in the jungle. The second policeman remains missing. Three members of Peru’s security forces were killed and two others wounded by Shining Path rebels on April 28 while they were searching for Astuquillca and his fellow officer, according to Reuters.
According to CNN, the 36 hostages were released six days after being kidnapped in the Apurimac and Ene valleys.
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