AN AUSTRALIAN MAN has been charged with allegedly raping, kidnapping and attempting to murder two young foreign backpackers.
The incident is alleged to have taken place yesterday in an isolated part of Coorong National Park in South Australia.
The Advertiser, a newspaper based in Adelaide, said the alarm was raised after one of the women escaped the attacker. Eyewitnesses said she was naked and bloodied.
A fisherman camped about 5km away said he saw a vehicle speed past him with another woman in the passenger’s seat. He said the woman was “screaming” and “not in a good way”.
Ten Eyewitness News reports that the two women, whose nationalities have not been disclosed, were travelling from Adelaide to Victoria when they befriended the man and decided to camp with him.
The women are in their 20s.
Superintendent James Blandford said the women found themselves in a situation that was “rather scary and physically bad for them”.
One of the victims was able to run away and came across some people who were fishing in the area and they were able to comfort and secure her.
The fishermen contacted the police and a 59-year-old man from Adelaide was arrested near the scene.
The women, one of whom suffered a serious head injury, were taken by helicopter to hospital. Blandford said they have serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
The man did not respond to the charges when he appeared at Adelaide Magistrates Court via video link.
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