Papua New Guinea police. Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
There are reports from Papua New Guinea that several girls from a remote village have been held captive by a large group of armed men.
The National reported this is according to an eyewitness, and the story has been corroborated by a government worker from Komo Hulia.
The eyewitness said the men have been demanding $40,000 kina with 10 pigs, for the release of the students to their families.
But deputy police commissioner, chief of operations, Philip Mitna confirmed the incident to the paper, but said he could not comment further as he had not yet received the full report from his divisional commander.
RNZ Pacific's PNG correspondent Scott Waide said police have not responded to his requests for comment.
Waide has spoken to a local health worker but has been unable to verify the information.
Hela Governor Philip Undialu said he had not heard of any such incident.
But Undialu said such occurrences were common in the Mt Bosavi area, where gun smuggling, and a lot of other criminal activities took place.
Local media reported police were preparing a rescue mission, but it was unclear when this was to have happened.