Algeria: No sign of group despite hi-tech searches in wilderness area
Concerns are growing after a group of 11 European tourists “vanished” while undertaking a trip through the Sahara Desert in Algeria. Six German and one Dutch motorcyclists cannot be found, along with a second group of Swiss travellers in a four-wheel drive vehicle.
According to the BBC News website, helicopters equipped with heat-seeking devices have failed to find any sign of the group, which was travelling through a massive wilderness area in the south-east of the country, near the border with Libya. The disappearance was first mentioned by Algerian authorities some two weeks ago, and there are increasing concerns that their fate may be linked to bands of sometimes-violent smuggling gangs that are known to operate in the area.
The dangers of visiting Algeria have been well publicised but parts of the country that lie within the Sahara region are generally considered safer. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office warns: “We advise against all holiday and other non-essential travel to Algeria, except to the Sahara Desert and mountainous regions in the south of the country, which are not normally subject to terrorist violence. The security situation in northern Algeria remains serious, especially outside the main cities.”
For the full article visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2901487.stm.
