Papua New Guinea police officers in Port Moresby on August 2, 2013. A group of Australian and New Zealand trekkers were attacked and two of their guides hacked to death on Tuesday/AFP
SYDNEY, September 11, 2013 (AFP) – A group of Australian and New Zealand trekkers have been savagely attacked and injured by bandits in Papua New Guinea with two of their guides hacked to death, officials said Wednesday.
The deadly incident happened at dusk on Tuesday after the group set up their tents along the popular and rugged Black Cat Track in the lawless Pacific nation’s northern Morobe province, with robbery the suspected motive.
“The attack resulted in the deaths of two PNG nationals who were porters for the group,” Australia’s department of foreign affairs (DFAT) said.
“Other members of the group, including eight Australians, one New Zealander and a number of PNG nationals, sustained injuries during the attack, however none of the injuries are life-threatening.”
PNG police spokesman Dominic Kakas told AFP the porters were hacked to death with machetes and four of the trekkers were badly assaulted, including one who was speared.
“One of the expatriates was speared through the left leg, one was slashed on the arm, another suffered severe lacerations to the head and another also had severe cuts,” he said.
“Some of the other porters were more seriously injured.
“There were six in the mob that attacked them,” he added, with all escaping. “One had a rifle, another a home-made gun, as well as bush knives and spears.”
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said workers at a local mining company helped the injured and traumatised trekkers walk to a medical clinic at their nearby camp. Kakas said they were then taken to a hospital in Lae.
Australia’s acting Foreign Minister Tanya Plibersek condemned the attack.
“This was a savage and unprovoked assault by what may have been a gang of thieves,” she said, adding that she had been assured authorities in PNG, one of Australia’s biggest aid recipients, would fully investigate.
Crime and lawlessness in the poverty stricken nation is a serious concern, including in the capital Port Moresby where in June four Chinese nationals were hacked to death, with one reportedly beheaded and the others dismembered.
Mark Hitchcock, a spokesman for tour operator PNG Trekking Adventures said the injured Australians were now comfortable and resting.
“This is an isolated area, an isolated incident that shocked us all. Totally out of character for the track,” he told ABC.
“This is the first ever trouble that we’ve had on any track in Papua New Guinea. It’s a difficult track, the Black Cat Track, and there have been some issues with other companies a long time ago, but of recent time there’s been a lot of development gone into the track since 2005.”
While the attack was believed to be a robbery, some reports suggested it could also be related to a disagreement between porters from PNG’s lowlands and locals living in the highlands.
The Black Cat Track runs between Wau and Salamaua in northern PNG through leech and snake infested jungle with precarious drops and potentially dangerous river crossings.
It was the scene of bitter fighting between Australian and US troops and Japanese forces in 1943, and is regarded as one of the most challenging treks in the wild and mountainous country.
Guide book Lonely Planet describes it as “suitable only for masochists and Israeli paratroopers”.
DFAT said it was recommending that trekkers avoid the Black Cat Track until further notice.
About The Author
