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Papua New Guinea attack kills two porters and injures trekkers Papua New Guinea attack kills two porters and injures trekkers
(about 4 hours later)
Australian and NZ trekkers attacked by bandits in remote, mountainous northern Papua New Guinea – in an attack that also killed two porters – suffered knife wounds and had to walk six hours to reach help. One Australian trekker was speared in the leg and another had his arm slashed in an attack in Papua New Guinea in which two of their porters were hacked to death.
Daniel King, husband of trek leader Christie King, said the group of eight Australians, one New Zealander and a group of 15 local porters was attacked by bandits at about 3.30pm on Tuesday. The trekking group, including eight Australians and a New Zealander, were attacked by bandits on the Black Cat track in Morobe province in the country's remote and mountainous north on Tuesday.
Two PNG porters were killed. Two of their porters were slaughtered with machetes and knives. The Australian Associated Press understands one of them was killed in his tent at the camp – indicating the attack was sudden.
They were attacked while walking on the Black Cat track between Wau and Salamaua in Morobe province in northern PNG. PNG police spokesman Dominic Kakas said six men armed with guns, a spear and bush knives struck between 1pm and 2pm. One gun was homemade while the other was a .303 factory-made rifle.
"Everything's OK, in terms of the group," King said. Kakas said there were no reports anyone was shot.
"A few of them have cuts and bruises and stitches. We have a plan now to get them out this afternoon. "Three of the porters suffered lacerations to their arms and eyes, one was wounded on both legs," he said. One of the Australians had his left arm slashed, he said.
"They were about six hours out. They were at their first camp when the incident happened, and they had to walk with injuries." "They all had their passports stolen. One man was speared in the left leg. Another has a head laceration, cuts on left elbow and bruises and cut on his back."
After the attack, the Australians and the New Zealander decided to leave the porters and seek help, heading in the same direction as their fleeing attackers. Some walked for hours to seek help and all the injured were later treated at a clinic in Wau, where they spent the night.
Helicopters are being sent to pick up injured porters. Rescue operator Morobe Mining Joint Venture spokesman Stanley Komunt told AAP the 10 surviving porters have been flown to Lae hospital for treatment.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) spokeswoman said none of the tourists' injuries were life-threatening. "We were told one porter had been killed, then [we] found it was two," he said.
"The attack resulted in the deaths of two PNG nationals who were porters for the group," she said. "Our sympathies are with the family and friends of those who were killed." "They are all at Lae receiving medical treatment."
The spokeswoman said the group's trekking company, PNG Trekking Adventures, arranged medical treatment when they arrived at Wau late on Tuesday. Trek leader Christie King, the only woman in the group, led some of the Australians through the bush to find assistance after the attack.
The Australian High Commission in Port Moresby has provided consular support and will meet with the group when they return to Port Moresby. Wau is a three- to four-hour walk from where they were camped, at the Donkey trail along the Black Cat track.
The spokeswoman said Dfat advises Australians in PNG to exercise a high degree of caution because of the high level of serious crime. That advice has now been updated to provide details of the latest incident. "Some of them did leave to get help, they were led out by the team leader," Kakas said.
He said PNG's police commissioner, Tom Kulunga, condemned the attack.
"All police resources are being utilised," he said. Local villagers were tracking the attackers now, he said, and about 20 police officers and the airborne unit had been sent to the area.
The injured tourists were to drive to Buolo village and on to Port Moresby. The Australian High Commission in Port Moresby has provided consular support and will meet with the group when they return to Port Moresby.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) spokeswoman said earlier, "Our sympathies are with the family and friends of those who were killed."
She said Dfat advises Australians in PNG to exercise a high degree of caution because of the high level of serious crime. 
"We recommend that trekkers avoid the Black Cat track until the local police have investigated this incident," she said."We recommend that trekkers avoid the Black Cat track until the local police have investigated this incident," she said.
Dfat has not changed its travel advice for other PNG treks such as Kokoda.Dfat has not changed its travel advice for other PNG treks such as Kokoda.
King says attacks are very rare.
"It hurts the whole trekking industry in the country," he said.
The Black Cat track was the scene of bitter fighting between Australian and US troops and Japanese forces in 1943. It is regarded as one of the most arduous walks in PNG.
Earlier this year, then home affairs minister Jason Clare and Coalition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison walked the track, accompanied by a pair of wounded soldiers.
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