Aircraft and patrol boats from Malayasia and the Philippines are continuing a joint search to locate 20 people, including foreign tourists. The 20 people were taken hostage from a resort off Borneo. Malayasia says that the hostages, Malaysians, French, German, Finnish and South Africans, are safe. They are believed to be in the Philippines.
The hostages were taken from the island of Sipadan, which is popular with scuba divers. The kidnappers have not made their demands known, but Filipino officials believe that they may be linked to a Moslem rebel group fighting for an Islamic state in the southern Philippines. Two Americans who escaped from the gunmen will be helping police with the investigation.
