British Tourist Gang Raped in South Africa

A British tourist in South Africa was raped by a gang of men who shot dead a motorist who tried to help her, it emerged yesterday.

The woman, 29, had stopped at a remote beauty spot in the Kruger national park with a 26-year-old South African man - thought to be her boyfriend - when four men hijacked them at gunpoint on Saturday afternoon.

They were close to Sabie, in the north-eastern province of Mpumalanga, and not far from Pilgrim's Rest, where British holidaymaker Diane Conway was shot dead and her husband Jon was injured in a robbery last month.

The attackers forced the couple into another vehicle and drove around for more than 14 hours, raping the woman repeatedly. The ordeal only ended when the car overturned in an accident near Barberton - more than 120 miles from the site of the abduction - on Sunday morning.

A passing driver who stopped to help was shot in the head, allegedly by the gang, who fled. Domingo Chamber, a 34-year-old South African, died at the scene.

A local man and a Zimbabwean, both in their 20s, have been arrested in connection with the attack and were taken to hospital with bullet wounds and head injuries. They have been charged with armed robbery and are expected to appear before magistrates today.

Police, who may bring further charges of kidnapping, rape, murder, and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm against them, have launched a hunt for two remaining suspects. "We condemn this incident in the strongest possible terms, and will do whatever it takes to bring the suspects of this horrific crime to book, said Divisional Commissioner Johan de Beer of the South African police service.

Yesterday the woman and her friend - who was knifed in the leg and suffered wounds to his back - were staying with his family in Sabie after their discharge from hospital. Both are receiving counselling and she has been given an HIV test and anti-retroviral drugs which reduce the risk of contracting the virus.

Yesterday a spokesman for the Foreign Office reminded tourists of the need to be vigilant in parts of South Africa.

"We have not, as yet, changed our travel advice, but advice such as this is under constant review," he said.

The Foreign Office website warns tourists that there is a high level of crime - and specifically of rape - in South Africa, although the vast majority of the 300,000 Britons who visit the country each year have a safe holiday. "As with other crimes, most incidents occur in the townships and isolated areas," it says.

About 21,000 South Africans are murdered each year, according to their government's statistics, and about 50,000 rapes are reported.