French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt has been rescued from FARC rebels in a jungle operation by Colombian troops posing as aid workers.
Ms Betancourt was seized in 2002 by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, as she campaigned for the Colombian presidency.
There had been mounting fears for her health, after she was seen frail and thin in a video released earlier this year.
Three Americans and 11 Colombian soldiers were also rescued in the military and helicopter operation in a region of southeastern Colombia.
US hostages Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, held since 2003, were freed in the operation, some 72km from the city of San Jose del Guaviare.
Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said the 15 hostages have been rescued unharmed. He said all 15 were in reasonably good health despite having been held in harsh conditions, often chained by the neck by their rebel captors.
He also vowed to continue working on the release of other hostages.
The rescue is seen as a huge triumph for popular President Alvaro Uribe.
The FARC has been holding about 40 high-profile hostages it has sought to exchange for jailed rebels.
Ms Betancourt was the highest profile captive held by the FARC, Latin America's oldest surviving left-wing insurgency.
Soldiers posed as members of a fictitious non-government organisation that supposedly would fly the hostages by helicopter to a camp to meet with rebel leader Alfonso Cano.
The helicopters, which in reality were from the army, picked up the hostages in Guaviare and flew them to freedom.
Two guerrillas were captured in the operation.
Ms Betancourt, 46, a former presidential candidate, had become a symbol of the suffering of the hostages as her dual French-Colombian nationality helped draw worldwide attention to their plight.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has despatched his Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, in a plane to Colombia. Members of the Betancourt family will accompany the minister.
'Today a nightmare of more than six years has ended. Ingrid is in good health,' Mr Sarkozy said.
In his statement, Mr Sarkozy also said France would take in any FARC members who gave up their arms.
