MANILA, Philippines (3RD UPDATE) – Several unidentified gunmen abducted a British man and a Filipino woman in Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur, on Friday evening, October 4, according to local police.

Allan Hyrons, 70, and his wife Wilma Hyrons had just arrived on a van at Hyrons Beach Resort, which they own, at about 6:50pm when 4 armed men approached and held the couple at gunpoint then took them to the beach front. There, they joined two other gunmen onboard two motor boats and sped off with the victims.

An initial investigation revealed that two of the suspects had checked in at the resort a day before the abduction.

Other guests have since left the resort, shaken by the incident.

The police, military, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are working together and exhausting “all resources, mobilizing all forces” in a rescue operation, said Police Major Helen Galvez, spokesperson of Police Regional Office 9 in Zamboanga City. – with a report from Richard Falcatan/Rappler.com