Deadline looms for Bangladesh kidnappers

Security is tight in the area: Police check a tourist's papers

The Bangladeshi army will be sent in if a Briton and two Danes are not released on Saturday, the country's government has said.

Engineer Tim Selby, 28, of Oldham, Greater Manchester, was kidnapped on 16 February with two Danish colleagues, Torben Mikkelsen, 48, and Nils Hulgaard, 64.

Tension has heightened because no negotiations have taken place in recent days between the kidnappers and the Bangladeshi government.

Relatives fear a shootout with the Bangladeshi army

The possibility of a shootout has alarmed Mr Selby's family. His brother Jon, 30, said: "Having the army go in is really the last thing our family want.

"There are so many risks involved, people could get caught in the crossfire, anything could happen. We're hopeful it can all be sorted out by negotiation."

The minister responsible for the remote southeastern Chittagong Hill Tracts, Kalporanjan Chakma, has promised immunity from prosecution if the kidnappers surrender by the Saturday deadline.

He said: "I will take all responsibility and promise that nothing will happen to you if the hostages are freed by Saturday.

"After that, the army will take over and that would be harmful for you."

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also promised that the army will be sent in to end the kidnapping.

Briton Tim Selby: Was surveying road project

The three hostages were working on a road project in south east Bangladesh.

They are being held for a ransom of about £1.1m by the kidnappers, who are believed to be members of a local tribal group opposed to a 1997 peace treaty aimed at ending a long-standing tribal insurgency.

The men work for Kampsax, a Copenhagen-based construction consultancy firm, along with another British engineer, David Weston, 56, and his Bangladeshi driver, Abdul Motaleb, who were freed and told to return with the ransom money.

Army commandos have already cordoned off an area of dense forest where the abductors and their hostages are believed to be staying.