In a scene which could have been plucked straight out of Hollywood, a jewelry store security guard in Ecuador was caught pacing nervously as experts diffused a dynamite vest placed on him by a group of criminals.
After a nerve-wracking three hours, the bomb-disposal expert and his team deactivated the device in Guayaquil on Thursday.
The man was uninjured after the suspected extortionists turned him into a human bomb.
Local media showed traffic being interrupted while the guard, wearing a white shirt and dark pants, walked nervously with wires and dynamite-type sticks taped aross his torso.
According to the National Police, the crooks kidnapped the guard late Wednesday and took him to the jewelry store the next day.
Explosives experts gave the visibly upset man instructions before one of them, clad in a bulky armor suit, deactivated the device.
“The effective intervention of the anti-explosives unit of the National Police of Ecuador allowed for the deactivation and removal of the device placed on the citizen’s body,” the Intervention and Rescue Group said.
Authorities believe the suspects kidnapped him after the store owners refused to hand over the money they had demanded.
“I congratulate the courage and professional work of our police officers and the anti-explosive team in disabling the… explosive device,” police chief Fausto Salinas said on Twitter.
The victim was treated for shock after the ordeal.
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