Two young French volunteers found dead today on an island off the northeast coast of Madagascar were likely murdered, authorities said.
Local mayor Bessaou Ismak Ado Crophe on the resort island of Sainte Marie said both bodies showed signs of head trauma, with officials suspecting murder.
"They spent the evening in a nightclub and were found on the beach nearby," he said.
"I saw the bodies. Both had injuries to the head."
The victims, a man and a woman in their 20s, were volunteers at Cetamada, a local environmental non-profit organisation working to protect ocean mammals.
An investigation had been launched.
Tourism Minister Roland Ratsiraka said he had spoken to the French ambassador to the Indian Ocean island and that the consul would be visiting Sainte Marie tomorrow.
"The government strongly condemns this act and will ensure that the investigation will be transparent," he said.
Cetamada vice-president Jean-Jacques Ravello, who is also France's honorary consul to Sainte Marie island, called the incident "barbaric".
