Sixteen foreign hostages being held by Islamist fighters at a BP gas plant in Algeria have reportedly been freed.
Those freed include two Americans, two Germans and one Portuguese, a source told the Reuters news agency.
It also reported Algerian special forces had killed 11 rebels in a final assault, citing the Algerian state news agency APS.
At least 10 Britons remain unaccounted for as the army hunted the al Qaeda-linked gunmen at the complex.
Foreign Secretary William Hague chaired a meeting of the Government's Cobra emergencies committee and said on Twitter the hostage crisis would "remain our top priority until every British national is accounted for".
Earlier, around 30 foreigners were still missing after the terrorists stormed the complex on Wednesday and seized hundreds of workers.
A police checkpoint near the In Amenas gas installation The British ambassador to Algeria is expected to get permission to go to the site with a small consulate team later today, Sky sources said.
A UK plane carrying a "diplomatic team" landed in Algeria around 280 miles from the hostage scene. Sky's Political Correspondent Sophy Ridge said the SAS were on standby.
APS earlier reported 12 foreign and Algerian workers and 18 Islamist militants were killed in fighting after government troops carried out a raid at the In Amenas installation on Thursday.
Details remain sketchy but the figures suggested around a dozen of the original group of 30 heavily-armed terrorists could still be holed up at the complex -
The Algerian military controlled the vast residential barracks, while gunmen were in the industrial plant itself with an undisclosed number of hostages, making it difficult for special forces to intervene, Reuters reported.
The siege took place at the gas complex in eastern Algeria The army is surrounding the plant and helicopters are monitoring the area, Algerian state radio said, quoting a reporter in the city of In Amenas.
Hundreds of workers escaped on Thursday when the army launched their operation, but some hostages were reportedly killed in the assault at the facility, which is jointly run by BP, the Norwegian energy firm Statoil and the Algerian state oil company.
Despite the casualties among the hostages, an Algerian government source quoted by APS strongly defended the military operation, saying it prevented a "true disaster" which would have caused "immeasurable" human and material damage.
One Briton is known to have died earlier in the crisis.
APS reported around 100 of the 132 foreign workers at the site had been freed along with 573 locally employed staff.
Irishman Stephen McFaul, who managed to flee from the kidnappers, is expected to be reunited with his family later.
People pictured outside a hospital in In Amenas The 36-year-old father-of-two from west Belfast is understood to have been able to escape when a vehicle he was in crashed after being attacked by the Algerian army - despite having explosives placed around his neck.
Hostage Iain Strachan, 38, from Howwood in Renfrewshire, spoke to an Algerian television channel about his ordeal.
He said was "very relieved to be out", adding: "Obviously we still don't really know what's happening back on site. So, as much as we're glad to be out, our thoughts are with colleagues who are still there at the moment."
He said the Algerian army's assistance has been "fantastic". He added: "I've never been so relieved as when they came and got us off site. We thank them very much for that."
Mr Strachan was interviewed on a bus alongside Darren Matthews, 29, from Teesside.
In Amenas in eastern Algeria is near the border with Libya Mr Matthews said: "I am relieved to be going to see friends and family. I feel safe at the moment but I won't feel 100% happy until I'm back in the UK, when I am back with my family.
"My heart goes out to the guys that are still there and hopefully everyone comes home safe because, at the end of the day, it's only work. No-one should have to go through that just for a job."
The militants are believed to be under the command of the al Qaeda-linked terrorist Mokhtar Balmokhtar, a one-eyed Algerian known as The Uncatchable, who specialises in hostage taking and has strong links with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The group behind the raid Katibat Moulathamine, or The Masked Ones, said it was retaliating for French military intervention against al Qaeda-backed rebels in Mali.
The gunmen are said to be demanding the release of two terror figures held in the US, including the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing mastermind Omar Abdel Rahman, in return for American hostages.
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