Tourists kidnapped

last updated 8 January 2015

Ciudad Perdida, Colombia

Armed rebels kidnapped eight tourists near a remote archaeological site in northeast Colombia this week. The government sent Black Hawk helicopters and thousands of troops to search for the group in nearby areas controlled by the FARC, a Marxist guerrilla group. The tourists—four Israelis, two Britons, a German, and a Spaniard—had been sleeping in cabins by Ciudad Perdida, or the Lost City, a collection of stone platforms miles from the nearest road. The kidnappers reportedly ordered them to put on hiking shoes, and marched them into the jungle. Mathijs Grote Beverborg, a Dutchman, was among a handful of campers who were tied up and left behind. “I only later realized how lucky I was,” Beverborg said.