British Hostage Killed by Al-Qaeda Terrorists at BP Plant in Algeria Texted His Wife Saying She Was 'Amazing' Moments Before His death
- Father-of-one Sebastian John among six Britons killed by jihadi insurgents
- 40 hostages killed during four-day standoff at In Amenas complex in 2013
- Mr John's wife Nicola told inquest how 26-year-old sent texts before death
- He also sent 'brave' covert emails trying to reveal identities of terrorists
- Wife of Carlos Estrada - BP's VP for North Africa - also received messages
- Mr Estrada text: 'I'm OK darling, the worst is over and returning to normal'
- 800 people were at desert complex when militants entered in January 2013
- Facility jointly run by Statoil, BP and Algerian state energy firm Sonatrach
- Inquest into British hostages' deaths continues at Royal Courts of Justice
Daily Mail UK, 9 October 2014
A British hostage killed at a BP glass plant in Algeria by terrorists linked to Al-Qaeda sent his wife a final text saying: 'You are the most amazing wife ever', an inquest has heard.
Sebastian John, 26, from the East Midlands, was among six British men and a UK-based Colombian killed by jihadi insurgents from the Sahara during a four-day standoff at the In Amenas complex last year.
A total of 40 hostages were killed when the al-Qaeda linked terrorist Mokhtar Belmokhtar stormed the facility in January 2013.
Sebastian John, 26, pictured with his wife Nicola and their seven-month old son, was among six British men killed by jihadi insurgents during a four-day siege at the In Amenas gas complex in Algeria in January 2013
The other British victims were Carson Bilsland and Kenneth Whiteside, both from Scotland; Stephen Green, from Hampshire; Paul Morgan and Garry Barlow, both from Liverpool, and Colombian Carlos Estrada.
During evidence today at the inquest, Nicola John described how her late husband phoned her on 16 January to say he had been taken hostage by Al-Qaeda.
The inquest heard how he later text her asking her to look after their 'tiny man', before sending a brave email - the last contact he had with his wife - trying to reveal the identities of the terrorists.
Mrs John told the court: 'He told me he had called the British Embassy to get the helicopters of the Algerian army to get back. He told me either they would kill the hostages or blow the plant up.'
During the phone call, he urged his wife to relate instructions to 'get the army back', fearing an attack would create mayhem.
She told the inquest: 'I told Seb that I loved him and he told me that he did too. I said I would do as he asked and I believe he just hung up. This was the last time I spoke to Seb.'
She later received agonising text messages, one reading, 'I love you so much, never forget that xx'.
Eight minutes later, Mr John wrote another message saying: 'Talk to my mum please. Look after our tiny man. You are the most amazing wife ever xx'.
The civil engineer, whose UK home was in Nottingham when he died, had already been singled out by assistant coroner for West Sussex, judge Nicholas Hilliard QC, for attempting to send the covert emails.
The court heard that, during the attack, hostages were 'encouraged' to make contact with the outside world, relaying the terrorists' demand that 100 Jihadi prisoners be released in northern Mali.
Senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent James Stokley told how Mr John had sent emails with pictures of the terrorists while he was held hostage.
Judge Hilliard said it was 'an extremely brave thing to do at considerable risk to himself'.
BP executive Carlos Estrada was among hostages who were killed at the In Amenas plant during a four-day stand-off. His wife said he text her saying 'The worst is over' before he was killed
Paul Morgan (top) and Garry Barlow, both from Liverpool, were also killed in the four-day siege
In her evidence, Mrs John also told the inquest her husband had been informed by e-mail that he would be going to work in Algeria but was unaware of any terrorist threat.
She said his only worry was being away from his young family, the hot weather and a possible driver's strike.
But she said her husband would 'often break down in tears at the prospect of going' because he did not want to leave his wife and baby son.
She said: 'If he had been able to identify an objective reason, he would not have gone.'
Once in the Maghreb, Mr John 'did not really like it and wanted to come home'.
Quote:
I told Seb that I loved him and he told me that he did too. I said I would do as he asked and I believe he just hung up. This was the last time I spoke to Seb
Nicola John
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Mrs John added: 'He thought if there were any concerns at all then BP would get him out of there'.
Today, Claudia Gaviria, the wife of another victim, Carlos Estrada, told the inquest how her husband had been pressurised into travelling to In Amenas by other executives.
Mr Estrada had worked for BP for 18 years and had risen to the post of Vice President for North Africa when he was taken captive and killed, the inquest heard.
She said: 'I strongly believe that had Carlos known of the risks posed, he would not have elected to travel to Algeria and would have travelled to his meeting in Egypt, as was originally planned.'
At the start of the crisis, Ms Gaviria began to receive worrying text messages from her husband, the inquest heard.
The first read: 'Love, there was an attack on the camp with lots of shooting. It is okay, it is fine, I love you'.
Mr Estrada asked his wife not tell their daughter about the situation 'so she is relaxed for the exam'.
He later wrote: 'I am okay my darling. The worst is over and the situation is returning to normal', the inquest heard.
Kenneth Whiteside, from Scotland, was another of the British men inside the gas facility when terrorists took workers hostage
But, tragically, at around 9pm that night, Mr Estrada left a voicemail on his wife's landline telling her he loved her - the last contact she had with her husband.
She told the inquest: 'He did not saying anything about the situation in Algeria. I think he was crying.'
Carson Bilsland died from injuries caused by an explosion, the inquest heard
David Green, the father of another victim Stephen, also told the court how he was reassured all British casualties had been taken to a hospital to await repatriation.
But the court heard Stephen's body was not identified for days and was left with the dead terrorists.
Mr Green added that a family liaison officer informed him the British Ambassador was on the site, co-ordinating the operation.
He said: 'I did not want my son Stephen to be lying out in the desert.
'The Algerians mistook him for a terrorist and he was not identified for another ten days after that which caused further distress, but that is my knowledge of what the British Ambassador did in In Amenas.
'I believed wrongly - as it turned out - that he would be protected by BP and the Algerian government.'
The court also heard the account of survivor Nick Hitch, the highly experienced project manager at the In Amenas Compression Project.
He said in a written statement of his belief the hostage crisis was 'an inside job', saying one spoke with an English accent and the other with a North American.
The oil worker added the In Amenas plant had two forms of emergency siren - an intermittent siren for fire and a constant siren for a security breach.
On the morning of the crisis, the intermittent siren began to blare, leading Mr Hitch to believe it was 'a fire drill'.
Almost 800 people were at the desert complex in eastern Algeria, pictured, when heavily armed militants entered at dawn on January 16 last year
The gas facility is a joint venture run by Statoil, the British company BP and the Algerian state energy firm Sonatrach
But, after hiding out with fellow workers, the extremists finally located Mr Hitch and his two colleagues.
The group were lead to a courtyard and held together with their fellow ex-pats. He recounted how the Islamists brought two barrels of 'TNT' into the courtyard, along with land-mines and a long fuse cord.
The terrorists then proceeded to attach the hostages to the explosive cache by the neck.
'They rigged us up with the cord around our necks and attached us to the explosives', he said.
Mr Hitch became convinced the attackers had deliberately targeted VIPs - senior employees - like himself.
He said the killers 'clearly had had help from people inside the facility'.
He said: 'Most [of the Algerian workers] appeared wary of the terrorists. However, there was a distinct group of about twenty or thirty terrorists who were separate from the rest.'
This group was 'laughing with them [the terrorists] and engaging in conversation with them', he told the court.
Quote:
I formed the view there was effectively an al-Qaeda cell in the camp. They showed a lot of inside knowledge in the way they took out the facilities
Survivor Nick Hitch
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Almost 800 people were at the desert complex when heavily armed militants entered at dawn on January 16 last year.
The coroner previously heard the terrorists were allowed to travel 30 miles across the Sahara desert from the Malian border with Algeria, to the facility, unchecked.
The six-week inquest into the deaths of the British men is being held at the Royal Courts of Justice, pictured
The court heard that the complex had been stormed by some 34 Islamists armed with AK47-type machine guns, telescopic rifles and explosives and dressed in military fatigues.
Gunmen attacked two buses carrying foreign gas workers at the plant before taking hostages at the plant's living quarters.
The first British victim to be killed was Mr Morgan, a 46-year-old security contractor, who was said to have died during the initial attack as the terrorists.
Many of the victims were last seen alive being placed in terrorist vehicles on the second day of the stand-off, the inquest heard.
The inquest heard how on January 17 hostages were grouped together according to nationality and told they were going to be moved as the terrorists anticipated an attack from the Algerian military.
Post-mortem examinations carried out in the UK found that Mr Barlow, Mr Whiteside and Mr Bilsland had all died from injuries caused by an explosion.
Mr John died from a blunt injury to the head, Mr Morgan was killed by a gunshot wound to the head and Mr Green died from a gunshot wound to the chest.
Mr Estrada, who lived in Chelsea, west London, died from injuries caused by an explosion and multiple gun shot wounds, the court heard.
The gas facility, in eastern Algeria, is a joint venture run by Statoil, the British company BP and the Algerian state energy firm Sonatrach.