Acid attack on two British women in Zanzibar

Victims ... Kirstie Trup and Katie Gee

By HARRY HAWKINS
A BRITISH teen was today “inconsolable” after she and her friend suffered “burns beyond imagination” in an acid attack on the east African island of Zanzibar.

Katie Gee and Kirstie Trup, both 18, were in their final week working for a charity when they had acid thrown in their faces by two men on a moped.
Kirstie's devastated dad Marc told how a passer-by came to the aid of the girls and phoned him on the spot to tell him what happened.

Injured ... girls were taken to hospital

He said: “He tried to put me on to them. You couldn’t get anything out of them. I couldn’t speak to them. Terrible. Absolutely shocking. Kirstie was inconsolable.”

Mr Trup added: “Both girl are very shocked and very frightened.”

Katie’s father Jeremy said: “I spoke to Katie three hours after the incident and again an hour and a half ago.


TWO teenage volunteer teachers injured in an un-provoked incident are named as Katie Gee and Kirstie Trup

“We are devastated. The photos I’ve seen are horrendous.

“The level of burns are beyond imagination.”

Police say two men on a moped in the capital Stone Town threw the acid at theteenage volunteers, splashing it on their faces, chests and hands.

Acid ... men threw substance from moped
SKY NEWS

The victims were airlifted to hospital on the mainland of Tanzania before being discharged this morning.
They will be flown home to London tonight and taken on to hospital consultants.
Their trip had been organised by i-to-i travel and they were in the final week of their stay.
A statement from i-to-i travel said: "All our efforts remain focused on ensuring they are supported whilst assisting them and their relatives with the arrangements for their return home.
"The motive for the incident is as yet not known and we will await the report from the local authorities in Zanzibar before any comment can be made."
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: “We are aware of an incident and are providing consular assistance.”
She added that officials became aware of the incident last night.

Acid ... attack took place in capital Stone Town

Deputy police commissioner Mkadam Khamis said: “Police in Zanzibar have launched a manhunt, and we ask for public assistance in identifying the attackers."
He added: "The motive for the attack on the volunteers aged 18 years has not been established. Investigations are on until we apprehend the criminals."
Zanzibar is a popular holiday island in the Indian Ocean around 22 miles off Tanzania.
The semi-autonomous region is predominantly Muslim and has been the scene of some religious violence in recent years. Last November a cleric was hospitalised in an acid attack and two Christian leaders were killed earlier this year.
i-to-i Travel, which is based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, runs gap year trips to parts of Africa, Asia, central and South America and Australia, with teaching visits in Zanzibar's Stone Town starting at £669 for two weeks.
Foreign Office travel tips for Tanzania warn that although most visits to the country are trouble-free, “violent and armed crime is increasing”.
The advice on its website adds: “Mugging, bag snatching (especially from passing cars) and robbery have increased throughout the country.
“In Zanzibar incidents have taken place in Stone Town and on popular tourist beaches.”

Released ... pair left hospital this morning
SKY NEWS





Scene ... street where attack took place
Barcroft Media

Source: Japan Today

ZANZIBAR, Tanzania — 

Two young British women were recovering after unknown attackers in the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar threw acid into their faces, the first such assault against foreigners in the popular tourist destination, police said Thursday. 

Late Wednesday night, two men on a moped threw the acid at the 18-year old women as they strolled through the streets of Stone Town, the historical center of the capital of the semi-autonomous Tanzanian archipelago, splashing their faces, chests and hands. 

“Police in Zanzibar have launched a manhunt, and we ask for public assistance in identifying the attackers,” deputy police commissioner Mkadam Khamis said. 

The attack on the women, both working as volunteer teachers at a school on the island, came at the end of the Muslim holy month of fasting of Ramadan, and as people began to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

READ MORE http://www.japantoday.com/category/world/view/acid-attack-on-two-british-women-working-as-charity-volunteers-in-zanzibar