Tales of 2 survivors

MANILA/SYDNEY: A 79-year-old Irish priest said he hiked through jungles, survived raging seas and slept in a swamp under a tarpaulin before his captors released him yesterday after a month, apparently without getting the ransom they demanded.

The Reverend Michael Sinnott said he was never harmed but complained of uncertainty of being released amid arduous conditions and a monotonous diet of sandwiches and rice.

"Because I am a bit old and I found hiking a bit difficult at times, I think that they'd be glad to kidnap a younger man next time," a smiling Sinnott, dressed in a clean shirt, told reporters after being greeted by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at a Manila airport.