Authorities worried over European captives' health

ZAMBOANGA CITY ,Philippines  – Authorities are concerned about the health of two birdwatchers held captive by unidentified gunmen in the jungles of Tawi-Tawi for six days now.

Elwold Horn, 52, of The Netherlands and Lorenzo Vinciguerre, 47, of Switzerland, were kidnapped in Panglima Sugala municipality last Wednesday.

One of those kidnapped, Ivan Sarenas, 35, was able to escape after he jumped from the speeding pumpboat of the kidnappers and swam under cover of darkness. Tawi-Tawi police director Senior Superintendent Rodelio Jocson said the area where the two are kept is infested with malaria-bearing mosquitoes.

Policemen searching for the two have taken precautions so as not to be contract the disease, he said.

Jocson said police and the military believe that the captives are still in the rough terrain of Tawi-Tawi.

“The combined forces of police, Marines and Navy are scouring the more than 300,000-square kilometer area of tough terrain,” he said.

Jocson said the kidnappers have not established any contact with the provincial crisis management committee (CMC) chaired by Tawi-Tawi Gov. Sadikul Sahali.

“We cannot really determine what the kidnappers want because there is no contact yet. Hopefully they will so the CMC can secure the safe release of the captives the soonest possible time,” Jocson said.

He added that it would be unlikely for the kidnappers to communicate with the families of the captives since their governments would still coordinate with the Tawi-Tawi CMC, he added.