British man and his wife kidnapped at gunpoint from Philippines beach resort

A 70-year-old British man and his Filipino wife have been kidnapped from their beach resort in the Philippines by an armed gang, police have said.

Allan Hyrons and Welma Paglinawan-Hyrons were abducted at around 6.50pm on Friday evening by at least four gunmen in the southern town of Tukuran.

Corporal Jairus delos Reyes said the suspects, who were armed with pistols, took the couple from a hut in their resort at nightfall and dragged them across the beach to boats.

Several young men in a nearby bar witnessed the abduction, police said, with some reports claiming there were as many as six members in the gang.

Police and military officers are searching for the unidentified gunmen and the couple, who own two schools in addition to the resort in the coastal town, Mr delos Reyes said.

Major Helen Galvez, of the Philippine regional police, said two of the suspected kidnappers had booked into the resort the day before.

The couple were “seized at gunpoint and dragged across the beach, where they were taken on two motorised boats that immediately sped off into the high seas in opposite directions”, Major Galvez said.

One boat reportedly headed west along the coast to Pagadian City, the other out to open sea.

The provincial government in the province of Zamboanga del Sur has offered one million pesos (£15,688) reward for anyone with information leading to the arrest of the kidnappers.

The group behind the abduction has not been identified. While no one has claimed responsibility, the region is home to numerous armed groups, including the Islamic State-affiliated Abu Sayyaf.

The militant Islamist group has often been behind kidnapping foreigners for ransom and has carried out suicide bombings in the region.

A sustained campaign against such groups by security forces has reduced the problem.

“It’s been a while since an incident of kidnapping happened in our area. We are alarmed,” said Major Galvez.

Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan has been identified by the US as Abu Sayyaf’s new leader in the southern Philippines.

He is believed to have been behind a suicide bombing at a Catholic church on Jolo Island in January, in which 23 people died.

Philippine officials say they are also trying to verify the reported abductions of three Indonesian fishermen last week off Malaysia.

(c) Sky News 2019: British man and his wife kidnapped at gunpoint from Philippines beach resort