Burglars stab NZ diplomat to death in Solomon Islands

7.45 pm

New Zealand's deputy high commissioner to the Solomon Islands was fatally stabbed by burglars this afternoon.

Bridget Nichols was rushed to hospital in Honiara but died soon after.

Solomon Islands Police superintendent Charles Lemoa said two security guards were being held for questioning by police but had not been arrested. He said they were not being treated as suspects.

"Really, the police do not know what the motive is behind the killing. It just came all of a sudden. The surprising thing is it happened in broad daylight," Mr Lemoa said.

"Nothing was stolen. Maybe there are other motives. I don't know if its connected to stealing or... to burgle that house."

Ms Nichols is the second New Zealander to be killed in the strife-torn nation this year. Last month construction worker Kevin O'Brien was stabbed to death when he arrived to supervise work on a Fletcher Construction project in Honiara.

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff said tonight Bridget Nichols, who began working in the troubled Solomon Islands a month ago, was thought to have been stabbed on the driveway outside her home.

Ms Nichols, believed to be aged 50, then staggered from her property into the house of her neighbour, who is the administration officer of the New Zealand High Commission.

At that point she could no longer talk and lost consciousness. She was treated by paramedics and transferred to the National Referral Hospital but died later in the afternoon.

A senior nurse at the hospital, Elizabeth Sanau, told the Herald that Ms Nichols arrived at the hospital about 3pm (New Zealand time), with one stab wound to her chest, above her heart. A serrated kitchen knife was found at the scene.

Mr Goff said she had disturbed two people burgling her garage.

He confirmed there was a security guard in place at Ms Nichols home. The security guard did not hear anything, and it is thought the intruders came up from the back of the property which belongs to the New Zealand High Commission.

Her apartment is in an area 3km from the city centre called Panatina Ridge.

Mr Goff said there was nothing to suggest the killing was politically motivated.

An autopsy is expected to be carried out early tomorrow.

One of the first people on the scene was a New Zealand police inspector serving with the peacekeeping force in the troubled Solomons.

A police investigation has started and New Zealand officials - including Prime Minister Helen Clark and Mr Goff - were briefed tonight.

Helen Clark said it appeared that Ms Nichols had been moving things either to or from her car. Her wallet bag and briefcase were still at the scene and the house was locked.

Ms Nichols had been in Honiara only since February 15, but she knew the Solomons well because she served there previously with Volunteer Service Abroad.

She was fluent in Solomon Islands pidgin.

She started with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1992, served in Mexico City from 1993 to 1996 and in Turkey from 1999 to January this year, where Helen Clark met her on a visit. "She was a very professional ministry officer, very professional," she said.

Her parents live in Britain.

The Solomons has been suffering a three-year civil war. Though a truce is officially operating, there has been an upsurge in violence.

Ms Nichols is only the second New Zealand diplomat killed on the job - the high commissioner to Niue, Hector Larsen, was hacked to death in 1953.

Mr Goff has been vocal about the need for the Solomons to restore the rule of law or face an end to aid from New Zealand and Australia.

Extra security was already in place around the embassy, and all staff are monitored by a local security firm 24 hours a day.

The Solomons police are now putting extra police patrols around the homes of all diplomats.

Helen Clark said: "We do our best to protect.

"But as of tonight the Solomon Islands police were putting on extra patrols around the homes."

The New Zealand peace monitoring team, which includes police officers, is stationed in the area and she said it would offer support and staying with High Commission staff.

Just last month, the high commissioner to the Solomons, Heather Riddell, confirmed that there were concerns that the capability of the police to respond to crime had broken down.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns New Zealanders to maintain a high level of "personal security awareness" and not to travel within the islands without consulting the High Commission.