“I welcome news from PNG that all hostages have been released and will soon be reunited with their families,” Wong stated on Twitter.
The tutorial, Professor Bryce Barker, and the opposite hostages have been reportedly held at gunpoint by 20 armed males, in keeping with a neighborhood police report.
Police didn’t say when the kidnapping occurred.
Barker is a New Zealand nationwide primarily based on the University of Southern Queensland in Australia.
The archaeologist and his analysis crew have been conducting fieldwork within the distant Southern Highlands province of the South Pacific nation after they have been taken hostage by the armed group.
Papua New Guinea authorities confirmed the discharge of 1 hostage on Friday.
The final three hostages — the professor and two Papua New Guinean girls — have now been freed safely.
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape stated the ultimate three hostages have been secured “through covert operations” with out paying the $3.5 million kina ($993,000) ransom.
“To criminals, there is no profit in crime,” he wrote on Facebook.
Wong thanked the Papua New Guinea authorities for its assist in securing a secure and peaceable decision.
“Also thanks to the Australian and NZ officials who helped support this outcome,” she stated.
Source: www.9news.com.au
