From left to right: NBC producer Ghazi Balkiz, NBC Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel, NBC photojournalist John Kooistra (formerly of WOOD TV8) on "Today" after escaping a kidnapping in Syria. (courtesy Today Show - Dec. 18, 2012)
Two people are dead and three people are injured after a two …
Updated: Wednesday, 19 Dec 2012, 6:45 AM EST
Published : Tuesday, 18 Dec 2012, 8:23 PM EST
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A former WOOD TV8 photojournalist was one of three NBC crew members kidnapped five days ago in Syria.
John Kooistra worked at WOOD TV8 in the early 1980s before moving on to WGRZ, the NBC affiliate in Buffalo, N.Y. Kooistra eventually went to work for the network.
NBC Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel, producer Ghazi Balkiz and Kooistra escaped unharmed Tuesday after being kidnapped by a group of gunmen.
Engel has said he believes the kidnappers were a Shiite militia group loyal to the Syrian government.
The three men were in Turkey and appeared Tuesday morning on "Today" to describe what happened.
“During the ordeal I made amends with my maker, made good with myself,” Kooistra said on "Today." “I was prepared to die many times. Moving was the hardest part. It was disconcerting to move blindfolded from house to house.”
Watch: Richard Engel's account of the ordeal via "Today":
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