The Ecuadoran Interior Minister, Jose Serrano, said the pair “are in good condition” reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
The women were abducted from the Cuyabeno nature reserve in the Tarapoa region, in Sucumbios province, near the Colombian border.
Police and armed forces personnel “located and rescued the two girls, Australian and English, kidnapped in Cuyabeno”, Mr Serrano announced on Saturday via Twitter.
The two women were travelling in a canoe as part of a group of seven tourists – five foreigners and two Ecuadorans – and two local Ecuadoran guides when they were attacked. Three members of a Colombian gang of ex-paramilitary fighters known as the Black Eagles are thought to be responsible.
Both British and Australian authorities warn against travelling to this region.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade advises not to travel to the border provinces of Carchi, Orellana and Sucumbios in the country’s northeast because of the “very high threat of violent criminal activity in these areas”.
Britain’s latest travel advice on Ecuador also warns against travelling near the Colombian border, especially in Sucumbios province where the pair were abducted, saying “Avoid all travel to the border areas in the northern province of Sucumbios. Colombian guerrilla groups and criminal gangs are known to have influence in all areas bordering Colombia. Foreigners, including oil workers, are potential targets in these areas and the crime rate is high.”
Colombia and Ecuadorian governments co-ordinated their efforts in rescuing the tourists, the Ecuadoran interior ministry announced.
