Gunmen abduct three foreign tourists from southern Philippines resort

John Ridsel

Gunmen have taken two Canadians, a Norwegian and a local woman from a tourist resort in the southern Philippines, an army spokesman said on Monday.

Attackers raided the Holiday Oceanview resort on Samal Island late on Monday and left by boat, according to Capt. Albert Caber.
The gunmen have not been identified but it appeared that the four people were targeted rather than randomly abducted. The Canadian victims were named by Philippine authorities as John Ridsel and Robert Hall and the Norwegian, Kjartan Sekkingstad, is said to be the resort manager. The woman has yet to be identified but is reportedly the partner of one of the kidnapped Canadians.

Military sources said the gunmen spoke English and Tagalog, the language spoken widely in the Philippines.

"Two Japanese tourists tried to intervene but failed," one of the sources said. The gunmen fled towards the Mindanao mainland with their captives, the source said.

Three navy ships were sent to search and intercept the gunmen's boat, while ground units were also alerted to locate possible landing sites in southeastern Mindanao, an army commander said.