BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- One of four American
                      bird-watchers kidnapped last week by leftist rebels in Colombia
                      escaped from his captors, the army said.

                      Thomas Fiore of New York City was found by chance by a
                      television news crew that was in the jungle area 35 miles (56
                      kilometers) southeast of Bogota to do a story about the
                      abductions.

                      "We're very happy," Gen. Freddy Padilla, the local army
                      commander, told Radionet radio on Thursday. "He's in an Air
                      Force helicopter."

                      Jose Luis Ramirez, a journalist with TV Hoy television news, told
                      The Associated Press that his crew was in a jungle region outside
                      the village of San Luis de Monsor, near where the abductions
                      occurred, when they spotted Fiore.

                      Ramirez said Fiore was covered in mud but looked to be in good
                      condition. Fiore told the journalist he escaped early in the morning
                      while one of his captors was sleeping, then walked through the
                      jungle for seven or eight hours.

                      'I'm fine'

                      "I'm fine. The FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)
                      did not use any violence against me and I was fed OK," Fiore told
                      the journalists in broken Spanish just after they found him.

                      Local media reported he was taken to the U.S. embassy when he
                      arrived in Bogota. Embassy officials were not immediately
                      available for comment.

                      A man who identified himself as Joseph Fiore told The Associated
                      Press in New York that the family would "have no comment until
                      we hear Tom's voice."

                      Fiore and three other Americans stumbled upon a roadblock set
                      up south of the capital by the FARC, the nation's largest and most
                      powerful rebel group, on March 23. An Italian businessman and
                      several Colombians also remain kidnapped.

                      Comandante Romana, the local FARC leader, had said the
                      foreigners would probably have to pay a ransom and that the
                      negotiations could take between six months and a year.

                      He also warned the captives would be killed if rebels determined
                      they were United States government agents.

                      Several rebel groups have been fighting the state since the 1960s.

                      'Everyone is watching the situation'

                      The Americans -- Fiore, Peter Shen of New York City, Louise
                      Augustine, a 63-year-old retired teacher from Chillicothe, Illinois,
                      and Todd Marks -- were on a bird-watching expedition on a road
                      notorious for rebel activity.

                      Liliana Davalos, a Colombian birdwatcher who knew Augustine
                      and Marks, had just returned from the United States where she
                      gathered information to show they are not spies and was
                      overjoyed at Fiore's escape.

                      "It's great that Tom has escaped. Let's hope that the others are
                      well and remain in good health," Davalos told Reuters shortly
                      before Fiore arrived in Bogota.

                      "I have got proof that the Americans are all birdwatchers and let's
                      hope the FARC live up to their promise and free them."

                      Colombia has the greatest diversity of birds in the world, with
                      some species found nowhere else on the planet. But it also leads
                      the world in kidnapping, and foreigners are a prized target because
                      they often fetch the highest ransoms.

                      Colombian military chiefs have ruled out any attempt to rescue the
                      hostages by force. But Padilla said his troops would continue to
                      hunt the FARC unit and warned Romana against taking reprisals
                      against the other hostages.

                      "Everybody is watching this situation and if any harm comes to
                      them it will be condemned by the entire world," Padilla told
                      reporters. "I don't think the (rebels) would be capable (of killing
                      them) because such an act would be absurd for political purposes."

                      The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.