HK Tourists Reported Safe After Peru Robbery Scare

The Travel Industry Council (TIC) says around 40 Hong Kong tourists caught up in a violent armed robbery at a luxury hotel in Peru are safe following the ordeal which is believed to have left one person dead.

A Peruvian news website said a gang of Venezuelans and Colombians stormed the Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica hotel on Tuesday night. Reports said a local tour guide was killed during the robbery.

The Chinese Embassy in Lima issued a statement, saying no Chinese nationals were injured in the incident.

The TIC said the Hongkongers staying at the hotel were on package tours organised by two travel agencies, Jetour and Premium Holidays.

The council said all of the tourists were safe, although one lost their passport and another their mobile phone. The tours were continuing despite the incident.

The hotel, which is said to be very popular with international tourists, is in Peru's Madre de Dios region, which borders Brazil and Bolivia.

Peru's El Comercio newspaper quoted the founder of the hotel chain as saying that – contrary to some reports – no tourists were held hostage during the robbery and the gang didn't venture far into the hotel, only stealing items from a shop.

He said the robbers may have shot the tour guide because he was wearing a uniform and they mistook him for a security guard.