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PORT MORESBY - Two Australian pilots have been rescued after gunmen hijacked their plane and stole a huge cash shipment, and left them handcuffed to a tree in a swamp.
The pilots had been flying A$2 million ($2.37 million) to a bank in Western Province when two security guards forced them at gunpoint to divert to a old World War II airstrip near the capital, Port Moresby, yesterday.
Police were alerted when staff at Jacksons Airport noticed the plane was not following its planned course, and the pilots set off a distress signal.
When police reached the airstrip on Fishermens' Island, near the harbour mouth, they found the two Australians handcuffed to a tree.
The security guards and three other bandits waiting at the airstrip had fled with the cash.
Police soon caught up with them, shooting dead one and capturing two others.
The cash boxes were recovered. The two security guards who hijacked the plane had been assigned by Bank South Pacific to make sure the cash haul safely reached its destination.
- AAP
