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| Women kidnapped in Ecuador: we feared being killed | Women kidnapped in Ecuador: we feared being killed |
| (8 days later) | |
| Two women tourists rescued from kidnappers in Ecuador near its border with Colombia told how they feared they would be killed by their captors. | Two women tourists rescued from kidnappers in Ecuador near its border with Colombia told how they feared they would be killed by their captors. |
| Kathryn Cox, a 23-year-old Briton, and Fiona Wilde, a 32-year-old Australian, were abducted while travelling by canoe in a group of seven – five foreigners and two Ecuadoreans – and two local guides in the Cuyabeno nature reserve in Sucumbios province on Friday. The other foreigners were not taken in the attack, which the BBC reported as having been carried out by a Colombian group. | Kathryn Cox, a 23-year-old Briton, and Fiona Wilde, a 32-year-old Australian, were abducted while travelling by canoe in a group of seven – five foreigners and two Ecuadoreans – and two local guides in the Cuyabeno nature reserve in Sucumbios province on Friday. The other foreigners were not taken in the attack, which the BBC reported as having been carried out by a Colombian group. |
| Wilde told reporters that she feared she and Cox would be killed by the kidnappers. Speaking on Sky News, Wilde said: "We were very scared but we could often hear the helicopters above us and that was very comforting while we were in the jungle. | Wilde told reporters that she feared she and Cox would be killed by the kidnappers. Speaking on Sky News, Wilde said: "We were very scared but we could often hear the helicopters above us and that was very comforting while we were in the jungle. |
| "When the helicopters got right above us, the kidnappers made us hide under bushes. The kidnappers got scared. They were, we think, close to maybe killing us. And then, for some reason, they changed their minds and told us to run. We ran out towards the helicopters yelling, trying to get their attention. | "When the helicopters got right above us, the kidnappers made us hide under bushes. The kidnappers got scared. They were, we think, close to maybe killing us. And then, for some reason, they changed their minds and told us to run. We ran out towards the helicopters yelling, trying to get their attention. |
| "One of the guys who rescued us got on a motorcycle and notified authorities and within 10 minutes there was 100 army people. We were surrounded and taken and felt very safe very quickly. | "One of the guys who rescued us got on a motorcycle and notified authorities and within 10 minutes there was 100 army people. We were surrounded and taken and felt very safe very quickly. |
| "The response was beyond our wildest dreams. We didn't think anyone was looking for us. To have so many people come to our aid, such an enormous response, and to hear so many people searching for us on the ground, and then hearing there were so many people behind the scenes, we are so grateful." | "The response was beyond our wildest dreams. We didn't think anyone was looking for us. To have so many people come to our aid, such an enormous response, and to hear so many people searching for us on the ground, and then hearing there were so many people behind the scenes, we are so grateful." |
| The Foreign Office in London said: "We are grateful to the Ecuadorean authorities for recovering Kathryn and her companion, and are working with them to establish the facts of what happened and who was responsible." | The Foreign Office in London said: "We are grateful to the Ecuadorean authorities for recovering Kathryn and her companion, and are working with them to establish the facts of what happened and who was responsible." |
| Police and armed forces are continuing their search to find the delincuentes – criminals or bandits – responsible. | Police and armed forces are continuing their search to find the delincuentes – criminals or bandits – responsible. |
| The incident is likely to make the Foreign Office consider strengthening its travel advice for the region. It already warns that Colombian guerrilla groups and criminal gangs have influence in all areas of Sucumbios. In July 2002, a British oil worker and his driver were kidnapped and later killed. | The incident is likely to make the Foreign Office consider strengthening its travel advice for the region. It already warns that Colombian guerrilla groups and criminal gangs have influence in all areas of Sucumbios. In July 2002, a British oil worker and his driver were kidnapped and later killed. |
| Canberra's department of foreign affairs said the Australian woman was in the care of Ecuadorean authorities. "The Australian consul from our embassy in Santiago, Chile, is travelling to Ecuador to provide consular assistance," said a spokeswoman. Consular officers have been in regular contact with the woman's family in Australia. | Canberra's department of foreign affairs said the Australian woman was in the care of Ecuadorean authorities. "The Australian consul from our embassy in Santiago, Chile, is travelling to Ecuador to provide consular assistance," said a spokeswoman. Consular officers have been in regular contact with the woman's family in Australia. |
| The incident comes as Britain and Ecuador are involved in a diplomatic standoff over Julian Assange's attempt to avoid extradition to Sweden, for questioning over alleged sex crimes. | The incident comes as Britain and Ecuador are involved in a diplomatic standoff over Julian Assange's attempt to avoid extradition to Sweden, for questioning over alleged sex crimes. |
| The WikiLeaks founder has been in Ecuador's embassy in London since June. | The WikiLeaks founder has been in Ecuador's embassy in London since June. |
| Australian government travel advice for the area "strongly advises" its citizens not to go to Sucumbios and other north-eastern provinces because of the "very high level of serious criminal activity". | Australian government travel advice for the area "strongly advises" its citizens not to go to Sucumbios and other north-eastern provinces because of the "very high level of serious criminal activity". |
| A number of foreign workers have been kidnapped, and one killed, it says. It also says armed criminals have robbed travellers staying at jungle lodges in the lower Rio Napo and Cuyabeno national reserves. | A number of foreign workers have been kidnapped, and one killed, it says. It also says armed criminals have robbed travellers staying at jungle lodges in the lower Rio Napo and Cuyabeno national reserves. |
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