HispanicBusiness

Thirty-six gas-line workers who were taken hostage April 9 in Peru were in good health after their release, a construction company official said.

"It is hard to express the relief and comfort I feel over the fact that our colleagues now can reunite with their families and return home," Skanska President and Chief Operating Officer Johan Karlstrom said in a statement issued Sunday.

The employees were taken hostage in Kepashiato, a town in La Convencion province, he said.

After fighting with government forces, the guerrilla group "Shining Path" on Saturday released the 36 hostages it captured earlier in the week, state media reported.

The hostages are employees of Skanska, a Swedish construction firm, and Construcciones Modulares, which both worked with the Camisea Gas Consortium.

They had been working on a natural gas line project in Peru.

Peru's government declared a state of emergency Wednesday and sent 1,500 police and military personnel to the dense jungle area.