Sex attack on backpackers at beach ‘like scene from Wolf Creek horror movie’

Crime scene: the isolated campsite in dunes at the Coorong National Park
Frank Thorne10 February 2016

A man has been charged with a vicious sex attack on two young women backpackers camping with him on a deserted beach in South Australia.

The women, aged in their twenties, were seriously injured and were airlifted to Adelaide, where one was treated for a severe head wound.

The three were staying at a campsite near Tea Tree Crossing in the isolated Coorong National Park, six miles south of Salt Creek, when the 59-year-old, from Adelaide allegedly attacked the women, raping one of them.

Witnesses told Seven TV news the attack was like a scene from the outback abduction movie Wolf Creek. They told how one of the young women broke free and ran naked along the dunes, screaming for help. Two men who had been driving near the dunes were flagged down. Witness Abdul-Karim Mohammad said the woman screamed at him: “He’s going to kill us — get out of here. Please get out of here.”

Others went to search for her friend but the attacker found her first. When she was eventually discovered, she was barely conscious. Police and locals caught the alleged attacker, his blood-spattered four-wheel drive stuck in the sand. He was forced face-down on the beach and handcuffed. A large knife and a hook were left at a nearby camp.

A man, who has not been named, appeared in court today by video link from the local police station, dressed in a medical gown. He was charged with rape, abduction and attempted murder.

Superintendent James Blandford said the women — who are not believed to be Australian — met the alleged attacker yesterday and had been travelling with him before deciding to camp at Coorong. He added that the women suddenly found themselves in a “very dire” situation with a “newly acquainted person”.

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