Munich  - The ten climbing companions of three Germans still held hostage on Mount Ararat in Turkey returned home to Munich late Friday.

Their return to Munich airport about 2000 GMT took place under the cloak of secrecy. Relatives and Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann were there to greet them.

Hopes for the release of the kidnapped climbers have faded since Tuesday, when Lars Holger Renne, 33, Martin Georg, 47, and Helmut Johann, 65, all from Bavaria, were taken hostage by five PKK guerrillas.

The night-time raid awakened the 13 climbers at the 3,200-metre camp on Mount Ararat.

The Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) has vowed not to release the three mountaineers until the German government abandons what they described as "hostile policies."

Germany has in recent years upped cooperation with the Turkish government in attempts to stop PKK activities inside Germany. (dpa)