by Donald Wood
Last updated: 11:27 AM ET, Fri July 15, 2016
Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
On Thursday, authorities in Peru announced that a group of criminals illegally boarded the Amazon Discovery cruise ship and robbed more than two dozen tourists from the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
According to The Associated Press, port captain Oscar Garrido-Lecca said the attackers used a small boat to reach the Delfin Amazon Cruises' Amazon Discovery tour cruise ship. Once they reached the vessel, the suspects illegally boarded and robbed the passengers and crew.
The pirates allegedly stole $20,000 worth of money and goods from the ship.
Among the passengers and crew members onboard the Amazon Discovery at the time of the robbery were 25 Peruvians, 21 Americans, six Australians and two people from New Zealand.
Delfin Amazon Cruises released an official statement about the incident:
"We regret to confirm that on Thursday, July 14, 2016, in the early hours, there was a robbery onboard the Amazon Discovery. The vessel's captain and the cruise director have confirmed that all guests are safe and none were physically harmed during the incident.
"The safety of guests aboard the ship is of utmost importance to Delfin Amazon Cruises, which owns and operates Amazon Discovery. This isolated incident - the first in the company's ten years of cruising the Amazon - is not reflective of the Amazon region today, which continues to be an increasingly desirable destination for visitors.
"Staff onboard the Amazon Discovery and at its Lima headquarters have further advanced measures to ensure the safety of its current and future passengers. The company is implementing a Peruvian river cruising protection strategy that includes the presence of permanent surveillance staff onboard. The vessel will also be accompanied by further security in a green speedboat marked Policia de Turismo."
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