The British Red Cross has been providing support to the families of four Britons recently released from a kidnapping ordeal in Ethiopia.

Four British embassy staff, one French woman and eight Ethiopians were taken captive in the Afar region of northern Ethiopia on 1 March. The five Europeans were released yesterday (13 March) but there is still no news of the captured Ethiopians.Two support workers travelled to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia on 5 March at the request of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). The team were relieved at the weekend by two new support workers.

The team have been providing emotional support to the families of those affected and embassy staff.

Tony Thompson, British Red Cross 

Tony Thompson, head of emergency response and resilience at the British Red Cross, said: "The team have been providing emotional support to the families of those affected and embassy staff. They've been working with people in groups and individually, to help them deal with the uncertainty that underpins this sort of event."

The Red Cross support workers travelled to Ethiopia at the request of the FCO, which is responsible for providing consular assistance to Britons overseas. The British Red Cross has trained volunteers on standby to offer practical help and emotional support to people affected by emergencies overseas.

In this role it recently sent support staff to assist Britons affected by the bomb blasts in Marmaris, Turkey and following a bus crash in Saudi Arabia in December.