KEY POINTS:
New Zealand troops have saved a man being beaten to death by an angry crowd at a Solomon Islands market.
Four soldiers, from the New Zealand Defence Force contingent posted in the Solomon Islands, were on patrol in Honiara on December 30 when they were told about the attack.
They arrived to find a man unconscious on the ground being beaten up by a crowd of stall owners and shoppers. One of the first on the scene, Corporal Rewi Hagen, said: "I pushed through the crowd to find a man in a pool of his own blood.
"We quickly cordoned off the area and removed the man to the safety of our Light Operational Vehicle.
"If we hadn't turned up, it is likely he may have died from the beatings and loss of blood."
Corporal Hagen and his colleagues, Privates Royden Brown, Neil Carraher and Andre Wilkes, administered first aid until police officers took the man to hospital.
Defence Force spokesman James Heffield said he understood the man had been threatening people with a knife before he was attacked.
It was an unusual situation for the soldiers to be in as local police usually dealt with these sorts of incidents.
They had no difficulty breaking up the crowd, he said.
He did not know the condition of the man or what injuries he suffered. New Zealand has provided support to the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands since July 2003 at the request of the Solomon Islands Government.
Currently there are 44 New Zealand soldiers posted in the Solomons. Their duties include carrying out regular security patrols, and assisting with external security at Rove Prison.
- NZPA
