Scandinavian tourists found dead with 'knife wounds' in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains
LONDON -- Two female tourists from Scandinavia have been found dead in Morocco, local police announced today.
The bodies of the women, from Norway and Denmark were found near the town of Imlil in the High Atlas mountains with knife wounds to their necks. A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder, the Moroccan Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation said on Facebook.
A man has been arrested in the major city of Marrakesh on suspicion of murder, but police are looking for possible accomplices, they added. The suspect is now in police custody.
The bodies were found on Monday. Both the Norwegian and Danish foreign ministries confirmed to ABC News that the women had been found dead and they were in touch with local authorities.
“The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been informed that a Norwegian and a Danish citizen have been found dead in the Atlas Mountains south of Marrakech,” Guri Solnerh, Communications Adviser at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told ABC News, using the French spelling of the city.
“The deaths and victims' identity has now been confirmed by local authorities.”
“We are in contact with relatives and are providing consular assistance in accordance with established practices and framework for assistance in connection with deaths of Norwegian citizens abroad. Our embassy is in contact with local authorities and representatives from the embassy are present in Marrakech,” they added.
A spokesperson for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also confirmed that the pair had been killed while “trekking in the Atlas Mountains.”
“The Danish Police has notified the relatives to the Danish woman,” the spokesperson told ABC News, who also used the French spelling of one of Morocco's largest cities.
“The relatives have been offered consular assistance by the Consular Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the Danish Embassy in Morocco. The Danish ambassador is currently in Marrakech to ensure the closest possible contact to the local Moroccan authorities.”
Officials are yet to confirm the identities of either women.
However, the University of Sørøst-Norge posted that two of their students had died in Morocco on Monday. The university set its flags to half mast in order to mourn the pair, they announced on twitter.
