2 crew members of Australian airline Virgin Australia raped, robbed in Fiji

The Fiji government on Thursday (Jan 2) said police were investigating the incident involving two crew members of Australian airline Virgin Australia, who were allegedly raped and robbed in Nadi in the early hours of New Year's Day.

The crew members were in the popular tourist destination on a layover and were supposed to fly off the following day, Fiji Acting Commissioner of Police Juki Fong Chew said in a statement.

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Virgin, which said it was aware of the alleged incident, has sent people to Fiji to provide support but did not provide further details in a statement to Reuters.

Fiji police said the investigation so far has found that some Virgin crew members had gone to a nightclub in Nadi.

"Unfortunately, two of the crew members were victims of an alleged theft and rape after exiting the nite club trying to find their way back to the hotel," Chew said.

Viliame Gavoka, Fiji's deputy prime minister and minister for tourism and civil aviation, said that these were two separate incidents of alleged theft and sexual assault that affected two different Virgin crew members.

Gavoka expressed regret over the alleged incidents and said that a suspect known to the police for the alleged sexual assault had been questioned and that the investigation was ongoing.

The South Pacific island nation of Fiji is a popular tourist destination and received 76,845 visitors in November, mostly from Australia, New Zealand, and North America, according to the country's tourism website.

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Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Reuters it was aware of the reports but declined to comment further.