Hostage describes Algeria siege

PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL

The aftermath of the deadly four-day siege at a gas plant in Algeria.

At least 48 hostages were killed here after militants swooped on the area and captured the base last Wednesday (January 16).

As the Algerian army moved in, a number of local and foreign workers managed to escape.

British survivor Alan Wright says he hid for a day and night before escaping with colleagues.

SOUNDBITE: HOSTAGE SURVIVOR ALAN WRIGHT, SAYING (English):

"We just went to our office, got supplies, food and water, took the satellite phone and just locked ourselves in one of the offices, put some paper over the window to stop anyone looking in and... (OVERLAID WITH PICTURES FROM SCENE) just lay low until we thought the coast was clear. You could hear gunfire outside, machine-gun fire and mortars, sometimes rapidly, sometimes it would quiet a little bit. We knew it was a really, really bad situation."

A weapons cache recovered from the site was displayed on Saturday (January 19).

Militants said the attack was in retaliation to a French offensive in neighbouring Mali.