UPDATE: Ecuador: 2 kidnapped tourists rescued

Two unidentified female tourists, from Britain and Australia, were rescued in Ecuador after being kidnapped on Saturday, reported Agence France-Presse.

The two women were kidnapped in the north-east of Ecuador, according to the BBC.

Ecuadorian authorities said the tourists were abducted on Friday by what they suspect is a Colombian group.

The Daily Telegraph said the two women were taken from the Cuyabeno nature reserve in the Tarapoa region, in Sucumbios province, while traveling by canoe in a group of tourists.

Locals laid the blame on a group of former-paramilitary fighters called the Black Eagles.

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Ecuador's Interior Ministry said both British and Ecuadorian authorities were working on the case, according to CNN.

In a separate incident, Ecuador's Environment Ministry said five tourists were also assaulted in the same province. The locals blamed that attack on the Black Eagles as well, but there has been no official confirmation on who was responsible for the attacks or the kidnappings.

The identities of the women were not revealed, the BBC said. "We are aware of an incident and are working closely with the Ecuadorian authorities. Next of kin have been informed," said a spokeswoman for the UK Foreign Office.