Police in Fiji are investigating an allegation that two Australian airline crew members were sexually assaulted and robbed during New Year’s Day celebrations.
The Virgin Australia crew members, a man and a woman, were celebrating at a tourist spot in Fiji during their layover in the early hours of 1 January, acting commissioner of police Juki Fong Chew said. They had gone to the Bar One nightclub in Nadi and were attacked on the way back to their hotel.
Virgin Australia said it was aware of the incident and had sent a team to provide support to the crew members.
"Our focus is on the wellbeing of our team members affected," it said, but did not provide details of the incident.
"Unfortunately, two of the crew members were victims of an alleged theft and rape after exiting the nightclub trying to find their way back to the hotel," Mr Chew said, adding the investigation was ongoing.
The man was robbed and the woman was assaulted, assistant police commissioner Mesake Waqa said. The man was treated for facial injuries.
A spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that they were aware of the incident but could not comment further due to privacy obligations.
The crew members remained holed up in their hotel rooms in Nadi until further notice, the Fiji Sun reported.
Teri O’Toole, federal secretary of the Flight Attendants’ Association of Australia, said they were waiting for official approaches for assistance.
“I believe these crew were on what we would call an overnight, so they would get to Fiji, wait, and their flight would leave the next day,” she told AAP.
There was a lot of guesswork about what had happened, she said and urged people not to make assumptions and respect the crew members’ privacy.
“This is not a very common thing but it’s not something that’s never happened before either,” she said, adding that it was disturbing for the families and colleagues of the crew members.
The incident could further hit Fiji’s tourism industry which was rocked when seven people, including four Australian tourists, were hospitalised after drinking alcohol at a resort bar on 14 December.
The cause of the poisoning was still under investigation as toxicology tests showed “no methanol or illicit substances” in the drinks, authorities said.
