Morocco: Two Scandinavian women found dead ‘with cuts to neck’ in remote High Atlas mountains
Two Scandinavian women have been found dead with cuts to their necks in an isolated region of Morocco’s High Atlas mountain range.
The tourists, from Denmark and Norway, were discovered on Monday with “evidence of violence on their necks” inflicted by a “cold weapon”, the ministry said in a statement.
Their bodies were found in a “remote mountainous region” around six miles from the village of Imlil – typically the starting point for treks to Mount Toubkal, North Africa’s highest peak.
A suspect was reportedly arrested on Tuesday morning.
Norway’s foreign ministry confirmed two women – one a Norwegian national – had died in the region.
Norwegian newspaper VG reported both women, who were in their 20s, were discovered dead in a tent they were sharing. The pair had been on a backpacking holiday.
“I received the message of one of our tour guides who had been in Marrakech,” a man who runs a local guiding service told the newspaper.
“The case is incredibly sad and completely tragic. I do not think the person or those who have done this to the girls are local.”
According to local media reports, all planned hikes in the region were cancelled and police helicopters were dispatched to search for the perpetrator.
A popular hiking destination, the High Atlas mountains are a subrange of the Atlas Mountains, which stretches 1,600 miles through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
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Toukbal, in the southwest of the country, lies around 50 miles south of Marrakech.
Additional reporting by agencies
