| "Come out with yer hands up and your towels down!" |
Marxist rebels have abducted up to ten holidaymakers celebrating Christmas at a lakeside spa in north-western Colombia, officials said. Fighters of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, raided a cluster of bungalows near San Rafael, 140 miles north-west of Bogotä, and herded between eight to ten Colombians into vehicles. The holidaymakers were kidnapped on Friday, but reports of their abduction did not emerge until late on Saturday night. Jorge Mejia, the deputy governor of Antioquia state, said: "Unfortunately, witnesses did not report the kidnapping to authorities until late today, so the guerrillas have had plenty of time to reach their hide-outs deep in the mountains." He said army troops and counter-insurgency police forces, supported by helicopters, have launched a large-scale search and rescue operation. "This is a criminal action, in no way justifiable. The victims were middle-class families enjoying a Christmas break," Mr Mejia said. |