Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

11 Gunmen Abduct 2 Canadians, Norwegian And Filipino In Philippines

The Canadian Press, 22 Sep, 2015 01:09 PM
  • 11 Gunmen Abduct 2 Canadians, Norwegian And Filipino In Philippines
MANILA, Philippines — Gunmen abducted two Canadians, a Filipino woman and the Norwegian marina manager at an upscale resort complex on a southern Philippine island, sparking an air and sea search by authorities, officials said Tuesday.
 
At least 11 men armed with pistols and two rifles arrived on two motorboats and entered the Holiday Ocean View Samal Resort before midnight Monday on Samal Island off Davao City, military and police officials said, citing witnesses and a security video that captured part of the kidnapping.
 
The gunmen attempted to seize an American and his Japanese companion on one of the yachts docked at the marina, but the couple resisted and escaped by jumping off the boat. The two suffered minor injuries as they struggled to break free from the kidnappers, police said.
 
Amid the commotion, Canadians John Ridsdel and Robert Hall and the Filipino woman, Teresita Flor, rushed out of their yacht and were taken. Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad, who was the resort's marina manager, was seized when he approached to check what was happening, said Senior Supt. Samuel Gandingan, the police chief Davao del Norte province, which includes Samal Island.
 
Government forces later heard of the abductions and began a search.
 
"Unfortunately, the lead time that the abductors had and the darkness of night were able to cover the retreat of the abductors," military spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla told reporters in Manila.
 
Government forces on planes and helicopters were scouring the waters and coastal areas in the Davao Gulf. Two motorboats were found in nearby Davao Oriental province and authorities were trying to ascertain if they were the boats the kidnappers had used, Gandingan said.
 
Norwegian officials said they have been notified about the reported abduction but have yet to independently confirm it.
 
 
"We are obviously very concerned now," Olav David Sekkingstad, the father of the abducted Norwegian, told the Bergens Tidende newspaper in Norway.
 
Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs said late Monday the federal government is aware of reports that Canadians were kidnapped in the Philippines and is "pursuing all appropriate channels to seek further information."
 
Ridsdel is the former chief operating officer of mining company TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc., a subsidiary of Canada's TVI Pacific, where he is still a consultant, The Associated Press reported a company officer as saying.
 
No group has claimed responsibility for the abductions. Muslim and communist rebels, al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants and criminal syndicates have been active for years in the restive southern region due to weak law enforcement in rural areas despite years of on-and-off government crackdowns.
 
Communist New People's Army guerrillas are active in the hinterlands of the Davao region, about 975 kilometres (610 miles) southeast of Manila, where they have denounced foreign mining operations and military counterinsurgency assaults.
 
Abu Sayyaf militants are notorious for kidnapping foreigners and Filipinos for ransom in the vast Mindanao region. In 2001, Abu Sayyaf militants tried unsuccessfully to seize hostages from the Pearl Farm Beach Resort south of Ocean View during a ransom-kidnapping spree.
 
The Abu Sayyaf abducted 21 people, mostly European tourists, from a diving resort in neighbouring Malaysia in 2000, then abducted three Americans and 17 Filipinos the following year from the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan province southwest of Manila.
 
Abu Sayyaf gunmen are still holding other hostages, including two Malaysians, a Dutch bird watcher kidnapped nearly three years ago, and a town mayor. All are believed to be held by the militants in their jungle bases in southern Sulu province.

MORE National ARTICLES

Study On B.C. First Nations Stone Tools Finds Glacier Brought Mountain To Man

Study On B.C. First Nations Stone Tools Finds Glacier Brought Mountain To Man
First Nations in British Columbia were once believed to have travelled long distances to find prized volcanic rock for tools, but a new study of an ancient village suggests the mountain actually came to them.

Study On B.C. First Nations Stone Tools Finds Glacier Brought Mountain To Man

Smell From Richard Oland's Office Was 'Nauseating,' Witness Tells Murder Trial

Smell From Richard Oland's Office Was 'Nauseating,' Witness Tells Murder Trial
Preston Chiasson was at Printing Plus below Richard Oland's office in Saint John, N.B., on July 7, 2011, when the victim's secretary, Maureen Adamson, came into the shop looking for help.

Smell From Richard Oland's Office Was 'Nauseating,' Witness Tells Murder Trial

Statistics Canada Says Wholesale Sales Unchanged In July At $55.4Billion

Economists had expected a gain of 0.7 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.

Statistics Canada Says Wholesale Sales Unchanged In July At $55.4Billion

Darpan's 6th Annual Extraordinary Achievement Awards Winner Announced In A Glitzy Gala

Darpan's 6th Annual Extraordinary Achievement Awards Winner Announced In A Glitzy Gala
Ten amazing individuals from the South Asian community were recognized for their extraordinary achievements and for reflecting their heritage in a remarkable way.

Darpan's 6th Annual Extraordinary Achievement Awards Winner Announced In A Glitzy Gala

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall Urges Oil Industry To Fight Celebrity Critics With 'Facts'

Brad Wall told the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association there is a growing, vocal minority that want the industry shut down completely and they are influencing policy-makers.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall Urges Oil Industry To Fight Celebrity Critics With 'Facts'

Damaged Dewdney Bridge Near Mission Closed To Traffic After Massive Crack Cause The Span To Dip

Damaged Dewdney Bridge Near Mission Closed To Traffic After Massive Crack Cause The Span To Dip
The Dewdney Slough Bridge is located about eight kilometres east of the community of Mission.

Damaged Dewdney Bridge Near Mission Closed To Traffic After Massive Crack Cause The Span To Dip