After 14 months in captivity, an Indian national abducted by Al Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf militants in southern Philippines on Friday dramatically escaped from his captors while they were sleeping after fasting for Ramzan.

Kolaraveettil Biju (36) from Kerala, who worked as an operations manager for a garment company in Kuwait, was abducted by the militants in Sulu province in the Philippines in June 2011 while visiting his Filipino wife's family in Patikul.
He escaped from his captors and was found by residents of a Parang village, which he did not name, before dawn today, Senior Superintendent Antonio Freyra, Sulu police chief, said.

"The kidnappers were resting. They had been fasting (for Ramzan) and they got tired and fell asleep, so he slipped away," Freyra was quoted as saying by the media.

The official spokesperson said Indian officials are in touch with him and the local authorities so as to facilitate his early return to India.