11 gunmen kidnap 4 at resort island
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The three foreigners kidnapped by gunmen from Samal island were two Canadians and a Norwegian. A Filipino woman also was abducted by the 11 men. Armed Forces of The Philippines / Reuters |
Unidentified gunmen have abducted a Norwegian resort manager, two Canadians and a Filipino woman from a southern Philippine island, the military and police said on Tuesday.
The suspects sailed two motorized outriggers into a marina on Samal island and seized the four from aboard yachts just before midnight on Monday, said Superintendent Antonio Rivera, a local police spokesman.
The gunmen appeared to have specifically targeted the victims when they entered the Holiday Ocean View Samal Resort off Davao City, about 975 km southeast of Manila, regional military spokesman Captain Alberto Caber said.
Rivera said the gunmen also tried to seize a foreign couple from one of the yachts docked at the resort, but they resisted and escaped by jumping off the boat. He said the couple suffered minor injuries.
Rivera said 11 gunmen were involved in the abduction.
He said the police and military using planes and helicopters were scouring the waters and the shores around the island and other areas in the Davao Gulf. "They appeared to target the foreigners. They went straight for the yachts," Rivera said.
However, he added, "We still don't have anything. We're blank. No group has taken responsibility, and there is no demand for ransom."
Caber said authorities have no immediate suspects. In 2001, Abu Sayyaf militants tried to seize hostages from the Pearl Farm Beach Resort south of Ocean View during a ransom-kidnapping spree in the early 2000s in the southern Philippines.
Caber said a naval blockade backed by two helicopter gunships was set up around the island to stop the kidnappers from reaching Basilan Island farther to the southwest where Abu Sayyaf militants have strongholds where they keep hostages while negotiating ransoms.
Police identified the Norwegian as Kjartan Sekkingstad, 56, the resort's marina manager, and the Canadians as John Ridsel, 68, and Robert Hall, 50. Rivera said the 40-year-old Filipino woman is a companion of one of the Canadians.
Davao del Norte provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Samuel Gadingan told government radio station DXRP in Davao City that three men armed with rifles entered the resort before midnight on Monday.
AP - AFP
