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# Tourists attacked, 2 dead guides Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Papua New Guinea
flanagan 17:48 UTC 11 Sep 2013 | Guinea: Deadly Ambush On Tourists Two guides are slashed to death and several tourists injured after bandits attack the group with guns, a spear and bush knives. 12:11pm UK, Wednesday 11 September 2013 Despite their injuries, some of the group walked for hours to seek help Email By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent Bandits in Papua New Guinea have attacked a group of hikers from Australia and New Zealand, hacking two of their guides to death. Six men armed with guns, a spear and bush knives ambushed the group as they walked along a track through the Pacific island nation, leaving a number of the tourists with injuries. "The attack resulted in the deaths of two Papua New Guinea nationals who were porters for the group," a spokesman for Australia's foreign affairs department (DFAT) said. "Other members of the group, including eight Australians, one New Zealander and a number of Papua New Guinea nationals, sustained injuries during the attack, however none of the injuries are life-threatening." It was not clear what sparked the assault. The group members were attacked with machetes, spears and guns "Three of the porters suffered lacerations to their arms and eyes, one was wounded on both legs," police spokesman Dominic Kakas said. "They all had their passports stolen. One man was speared in the left leg. Another has a head laceration, cuts on left elbow and bruises and cut on his back." One of the Australians had his left arm slashed, he added. Some of the group walked for hours to seek help, and all the injured were later treated at a clinic in Wau, where they spent the night. Workers at a local mining company helped the injured trekkers, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Rescue operator Morobe Mining Joint Venture spokesman Stanley Komunt said the 10 surviving porters had been flown to Lae hospital for treatment. The tourists were hiking through Papua New Guinea's mountains. (File pic) "We were told one porter had been killed, then found it was two," he said. "They are all at Lae receiving medical treatment." The group were hiking along the Black Cat Track, which runs between Wau and Salamaua in northern Papua New Guinea. It was the scene of bitter fighting between Australian and US troops against Japanese forces in 1943 and is regarded as one of the most challenging treks in the wild due to the mountainous country. "The Australian High Commission in Port Moresby has provided consular support and will meet with the group when they return to Port Moresby," the DFAT spokesman said. "We recommend that trekkers avoid the Black Cat Track until local police have investigated this incident." Crime in PNG is rampant, including in the capital Port Moresby where in June four Chinese nationals were hacked to death, with one reportedly beheaded and the others dismembered. Brutality against women is particularly endemic. In April, a US academic was gang-raped while she was trekking along a jungle trail with her husband and a guide. |
majordom 19:27 UTC 11 Sep 2013 | full report here http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-11/australians-inured-in-deadly-attack-on-png-trekking-party/4950114 generally PNG is safe outside the big towns but sadly random violence can happen (but the same can be said of the USA) be careful out there | 1
calw 21:44 UTC 10 Feb 2014 | Has there been any updates to this story? | 2