A movie rescue to put an end to the nightmare. An Ethiopian army helicopter yesterday rescued the eighteen tourists and their guide, most of them Catalan, trapped in a hostel in northwest Ethiopia since August 2, when they were surprised by a violent revolt by the Fano guerrilla, in confrontation with the Government. After being escorted by soldiers to a military base early yesterday morning, a Russian-made Mil Mi-171 Sh aircraft airlifted the members of the group to the city of Bahir Dar, where they landed minutes before 1:00 p.m. All of them will travel today by commercial plane to the capital, Addis Ababa, and they already have tickets reserved for their arrival in Spain on Monday morning.
A few minutes after landing, Noelia Bertran, the group's guide, explained to this newspaper the emotion of being rescued by the Ethiopian military. “Many have exploded with nerves and in the helicopter we have cried with happiness. We are happy to finally be safe. Upon landing we gave each other a huge hug. It has been a fantastic group and we have become close”. Bertran, who slept in the van for ten days while her clients shared beds in a hostel with poor hygiene, no running water, fleas and pets, described the general relief after ten days of uncertainty. “It's a huge break. We are not in Addis Ababa yet but it is one more step. It was very brutal that they took us out in a helicopter, but it was the only way because there was no security on the road. We feel enormous happiness, we are very happy”.
Although the initial plan was to reach the tourists with a convoy of trucks from Bahr Dir, an air rescue was organized due to the insecurity in the area, where assaults and robberies had occurred in recent hours.
Miquel Ribas, director of Kananga, the Barcelona travel agency that organized the Ethiopian expedition, explained that the army played a mistake to reinforce the security of the Spaniards. “At all times they said that he was going to go look for them with trucks and they gave the green light, but minutes later the helicopter took off. They had it all well thought out."
Ribas expressed his satisfaction at the happy resolution of the incident, but stressed the key figure of Daniel Abate, a 30-year-old Ethiopian and manager of the Kuriftu luxury hotel, where the Spaniards stayed yesterday. “The rescue operation is not organized by the Foreign Ministry but is triggered by a well-connected kid who went out of his way to help; he has been the hero of all this ”.
On the other end of the phone, Abate is grateful for Ribas's complimentary words and confirms that it was he who pulled the strings to organize the air rescue. “I helped them because they are visitors to our country and we are all responsible for keeping them safe and happy to be here. There are many groups, both local and foreign, that have found themselves trapped in this situation, but my good relationship with the military allowed me to choose the Spanish to go on the helicopter."
Abate assured this newspaper that the Ethiopian army will bear the cost of the operation. “There is no cost. They have done me that favor because we know each other and this is a question of friendship. I can confirm that there will be no payments."
Once safe, the question now focuses on settling responsibilities. While the Spanish embassy in Ethiopia claims that it warned on its website that it was unsafe to visit the region, both the travel agency and tourists reject that version. According to Ribas, there was nothing to suggest that a violent riot of such magnitude could break out in the Lake Tana area, in which his customers and employees were caught up. “Until August 4, when the Spanish embassy updated its website, there was no notice advising against visiting that region. There were warnings for the Tigré area in the north, but where everything has happened is the most touristic area in the country and the proof is that there are several tourist groups from other countries”.
Inma de Blas, one of the tourists trapped, also flatly denied the accusations of irresponsibility. “I am very outraged that it is insinuated that we are bold or unconscious. Before coming we informed ourselves and there was no official warning not to visit that area. We haven't done anything wrong."
The Fano revolt, a term that refers to volunteer guerrillas, rose up against the government last week, but tension had risen since April, when Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed announced the integration of special forces. Regionals in the Army. The gesture of the Ethiopian Executive was understood from the Fano side, which had fought alongside the Government against the Tigré People's Liberation Front (FLPT) during the war between 2020 and 2022, as an attempt to control and disintegrate its power and influence. . The Amhara discontent, violently crystallized by the Fano, is also based on a historical neglect and lack of representation in the Government, despite the fact that it is the second most numerous ethnic group after the Oromo. One in four Ethiopians is Amhara.
