Backpackers Escape Alleged Kidnap, Murder Attempt in Australia

Two female backpackers in rural Australia narrowly escaped with their lives after a man they were camping with held them captive and attempted to kill them, police and local media said.

Superintendent James Blandford told reporters the backpackers were rescued after one of the women managed to escape Tuesday and ran into a group of fishermen, who called police.

The women suffered serious injuries during the ordeal in the remote Coorong National Park, around 100 miles outside the southern city of Adelaide, South Australia Police said in a statement early Wednesday.

A 59-year-old man was arrested near the scene and charged with kidnapping and attempted murder, the police statement added. It did not identify the victims or the suspect. 

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