Algeria hostage crisis: survivor tells of 'Great Escape' after terrifying 24 hours hiding from terrorists But even after they found a group of soldiers, he told how his "most terrifying moment" came when he and other expats were separated from the Algerians and he thought he had walked in to the hands of the terrorists. Holding back emotion, Mr Wright said he had texted his wife to say he was OK while in hiding but told how, despite having a satellite phone, could not bring himself to speak to his young daughters because he did not want that to be the last conversation he had with them. Mr Wright's was the first full account from a survivor of the hostage nightmare in which six Britons are believed to have died. It came as David Cameron warned of the start of a decades-long struggle against Islamist terrorism in north Africa. As Algerian forces continued dismantling the mines and explosives left by the militants who booby-trapped the sprawling BP gas plant at In Amenas, the Algerian authorities warned that the provisional death toll of 23 hostages was likely to rise. All 32 militants involved in the attack were reported to have been killed - some of them after reportedly "executing" their foreign captives as Algerian special forces mounted their "final assault" yesterday to take back the facility. Mr Wright, from Portsoy, Scotland, hugged 31 year old wife Karlyn as they relived the worst 72 hours of their lives. He told how he had gone to the office block early on Wednesday meaning he was not in the accommodation quarters, which was the main focus of the terror attack. The first we knew something was happening was when the power went off and the alarm sounded - a common occurrence for an outage and a plant shutdown procedure. Myself and three other colleagues went to the muster point but there was no one there and we went back to our office. It was then that an Algerian National employee told us there was a terrorist attack. We had a procedure should something like that happen and we locked ourselves in the office, taped papers over the window so no one could see inside and sat tight. There was gunfire outside, sometimes intense, and then at times quiet and we sat for three and a half hours. Other colleagues told us the terrorists wore either military uniform or gendarmes so we would not know who was friend or foe. Someone came into the building about 9.30am and said good morning in Arabic very politely and we were sure that was a terrorist trying to entice people out, so we didn't move. We sat throughout the day in darkness and silence, sometimes taking the chance to go to the lavatory or get some food or drink, then we decided to move to another room about 6pm. We were there until 5am, managing to grab some sleep, while others kept watch. There were about 30 workers in the building, including a lot of Algerians who could have left unharmed. But they knew if they did, it might betray us and we owe these guys our lives for staying with us. The lifeline was the satellite phone kept in the building and Alan's mobile phone. He managed to text Karlyn: "Don't panic. Terrorists in camp. They have accommodation block and factory. Then another: "BP may say I Am missing. I am not. Don't worry. Don't reply. Love all of you. And another: "Still here." But he didn't know if they were getting through. Karlyn said: "It was wonderful to receive them. I knew he was alive when the news was saying all the time that hostages and casualties were rising. It was such a worrying time. Then on the Wednesday morning, the Algerians agreed they were going to try and escape at first light. The wire fence was only 20 yards from their hiding place. Mr Wright said: "I had made up my mind to stay put. But when I heard the first twang of the wire being cut I was like a rabbit out of the trap. I grabbed a hat and anorak to try and look like a local and made a break for it with the rest of the lads. It was like the Great Escape. We all climbed through the fence and ran into the desert as gunfire chattered behind us as the fighting went on. We took the satellite phone with us and were about 1km in when we saw a military post. But we didn't know if they were friend or foe. The group were told the stop, kneel down and say nothing. Then the armed men began isolating the locals until only the four ex-patriots were left. We were there for about 10 minutes alone and it was the most terrifying. We thought we had walked into the arms of the terrorists disguised as soldier. But one of the nationals recognised a couple of them and we knew we were safe! Alan managed to use the satellite phone to contact Karlyn to tell her he was safe and then he had to hang up. Eventually the Brits were taken to another military base where they were medically checked, debriefed for as much intelligence about the terrorists and taken to Armenas town after 24 hours under siege to freedom. There is no doubt the gendarmes and the soldiers saved our lives, putting themselves at risk for the sake of others. Mr Wright had worked in the gas plant for two years and only recently joined BP as a staff member. He had been home for Christmas and just returned to the Sahara to change his shift from a three week on three week off schedule to four on four off so he could be back at Christmas again to spend the festive season with daughters Imogen (4) and 18 month old Esme. He said: "If I had not done that, I would have been on a bus back to the airport to go home - a bus that was attacked by the terrorists." Despite his ordeal Mr Wright said he would not rule out returning to Algeria adding: "There are worse places in the world to work." Mr Cameron said the attack was a "stark reminder" of the continuing terrorist threat and vowed to use Britain's chairmanship of the G8 to ensure that it was right at the top of the international agenda.