British backpacker escapes tribe in Papua New Guinea

Tuesday, 13 Jan, 2016 0

A backpacking couple feared they could be eaten by cannibals after they were captured by a tribe while trekking in Papua New Guinea.

A 31 tourist from London and his American girlfriend say they were confronted by a gang who tied them up, stripped them naked and beat them.

They finally managed to escape while the tribesmen were marching them through the jungle, and ran naked back to safety, reports the Sun.

The Foreign Office is helping the Papua New Guinea authorities find the tribesmen responsible.

A Foreign Office spokesman told the Telegraph: “We are providing support to a British national and their partner who both suffered injuries and were taken to hospital following an incident in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on 11 January.”

The couple originally flew to Papua New Guinea’s capital Port Moresby to start a 60-mile hike along the Kokoda Trail.

They met a host of welcoming villagers and spent every night sleeping in the open after foraging for their food but on the final day of their trip, they were confronted by two tribesmen armed with machetes, followed by several other natives.

The Londoner, who was on reality TV show Shipwrecked in 2008, said: “They looked very scary in native costumes and what looked like war paint and came closer before circling around us. They tore up my T-shirt to blindfold me and the awful thought crossed my mind that we could be on the menu.”

The island of New Guinea is believed to be one of the world’s last outposts of cannibalism, with the most recent known case dating to 2012.

A Foreign Office spokesman told the Telegraph: “”We are providing support to a British national and their partner who both suffered injuries and were taken to hospital following an incident in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on 11 January.”



 

profileimage

Diane



Most Read

Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know

Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham

Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago

Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research

Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact

Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference

Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role

Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal

Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination

Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness

Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future

Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
TRAINING & COMPETITION
Skip to toolbar
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...