Kjartan Sekkingstad speaks of his year-long ordeal as an ASG hostage

A year after his release, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad finally revealed details of his year-long ordeal as an Abu-Sayyaf group hostage.

Sekkingstad told his story to the Canadian newspaper the National Post, starting from when he and the other hostages Robert Hall, John Ridsdel, and Marites Flor were kidnapped from a Samal Island marina in September 21, 2015.

The Norwegian said that when he saw an American guest and the guest's Japanese wife being roughed up by what turned out to be were ASG gunmen, he thought that they were being robbed.

But when the gunmen took the four of them and led them to the breakwater where a boat was waiting, he realized it was a kidnapping.

The hostages then spent three days holed up in the boat's cramped compartment, where they were fed with a few pieces of fish, crackers, and some coffee.

When they landed, heavily armed fighters greeted their kidnappers.

The hostages were then put in a jeep, taken up a mountain, then force-marched into the jungle.

For the next several months, the hostages and their ASG captors would move constantly through the jungle, staying put only a few days at a time.

The ASG would also always make sure they had overhead cover, thus preventing Philippine security forces from spotting them from the air.

When the April 25, 2016 deadline passed with no ransom paid, the ASG gunmen separated Ridsdel and handcuffed him.

Ridsdel was allowed to speak with his daughters. Sekkingstad heard him say that he loved them that and that they should not blame themselves.

Sekkingstad, Hall, and Flor where then made to lay on the ground, and Ridsdel was taken away.

Though they heard Ridsdel's agonized cries, Sekkingstad and the other hostages could not believe they were killing him. They thought that he was just being tortured.

But they then saw the leader of the kidnappers come back with a bloody knife.

Afterwards, Sekkingstad and Hall agreed that if it was their turn next they would fight.

But the kidnappers tricked them. On June 13 they said that Hall was being released. They separated Hall, took him away, and killed him.

Flor was released 10 days later.

Sekkingstad was released and given to Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters on September 17 after a ransom, estimated to be between P30 million to P50 million, was paid.

He was flown to Davao City the next day and he met President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte had told him , "We'll get them (the ASG kidnappers) some day."

Sekkingstad flew home to Norway a handful of days later. He now works at his family's seafood processing plant. — DVM, GMA News