American Tourists Shot by Bandits

On March 21st 2006, two American tourists were shot along with their local guide in a Tanzanian tourist destination near the Kenyan border. The three were wounded when robbers attacked. Local police have detained six suspects in conjunction with the robbery.

The guide is in critical condition after receiving a bullet wound in the head. One woman was shot in the stomach. Her male companion was shot in the leg. Both are in hospital in Nairobi. The two had been travelling with a group including two others from the US and one tourist from the UK, who were unharmed in the incident.

Tanzania is generally considered to be a relatively safe country for tourists, particularly when compared to neighbouring Kenya, and the country’s economy relies heavily on income from tourism. People from all over the world visit Tanzania to climb the slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro, sun themselves on the beautiful beaches of Zanzibar or embark on a wildlife safari across the Serengeti plains. Wednesday’s incident, however, was the second such robbery in the area within the month. In February, bandits robbed tourists near the Ngorongoro crater, although no one was hurt.