A French woman has been kidnapped by an armed gang on Kenya's northern resort island of Manda, officials say.
The woman - who is said to be disabled and aged 66 - was attacked at a rented thatched bungalow at Ras Kitau.Witnesses said they heard shots being fired before the woman was taken away in a motorboat.
Two coastguard ships later surrounded the boat carrying the attackers and the hostage near the Somali border, Kenya's tourism minister said.
Najib Balala added that the attackers were firing into the air - apparently to try to scare off the vessels.
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This was a far more audacious raid than the one against David and Judith Tebbutt at Kiwayu. Ras Kitau is just opposite Lamu Island's popular Shela beach so this attack goes right to the heart of Lamu's tourism industry.
This time the gunshots were heard in Shela village and will have scared tourists and hotel owners alike. On an island where almost all job opportunities are related to tourism this is very bad news.
One hotel owner told me Somali gangs in boats had been seen at least twice in the last ten days close to Kiwayu. He has closed the resort.
Whatever the outcome of this latest kidnapping, there is now a desperate need for the Kenyan government to launch a major security operation and stop the gangs from getting anywhere near these resorts. It will not be easy but it has to be done in order to make the tourists feel safe, save jobs and keep the foreign exchange coming in
Analysis
This time the gunshots were heard in Shela village and will have scared tourists and hotel owners alike. On an island where almost all job opportunities are related to tourism this is very bad news.
One hotel owner told me Somali gangs in boats had been seen at least twice in the last ten days close to Kiwayu. He has closed the resort.
Whatever the outcome of this latest kidnapping, there is now a desperate need for the Kenyan government to launch a major security operation and stop the gangs from getting anywhere near these resorts. It will not be easy but it has to be done in order to make the tourists feel safe, save jobs and keep the foreign exchange coming in
A police helicopter is also taking part in the rescue operation.
The kidnap comes three weeks after a British couple were attacked further north, in Kiwayu. Gunmen shot dead husband David Tebbutt and kidnapped his wife Judith. She was taken across the border to Somalia.
'Hugely damaging' The unidentified gunmen struck at Ras Kitau after midnight.
Witnesses say they heard at least two gunshots before the woman was taken away by the attackers.
"Armed people came into Manda by boat in the middle of the night. The elderly French woman is well known in the area, she comes to Manda regularly," Abu Chiaba, a local legislator, told Reuters.
Kenyan police have not released the name of the woman.
The attack happened just across a lagoon from Shela - an exclusive resort on Lamu island.
It could be hugely damaging to Lamu's tourism industry, the BBC's Will Ross in Nairobi says.
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