An Irish backpacker was attacked by a man who tried to abduct her in Perth, Australia, last Friday, fuelling further fears about the safety of tourists.
The attack comes a week after the murder of a young English visitor in Queensland.
In the incident in Perth, the 19-year-old, who asked not to be named, was returning alone to a backpackers' hostel in the Northbridge area of the city at about 12.50 a.m. She had been at The Bog nightclub.
It is believed that the attacker waited for her in a car. As she walked past, he jumped out of the passenger side of the car and punched her in the stomach. He then dragged her towards the car. The woman fought back by grabbing the man's pony tail and punching him in the face. She screamed and managed to escape. The man then jumped into the car and it was driven off.
A spokesman for the Perth Police Department said yesterday that there were no new developments that he was aware of and no reports of any arrests.
There have been a number of high-profile crimes against backpackers in Australia. Yesterday, however, the Australian Ambassador to Ireland, Mr Bob Halverson OBE, told The Irish Times that Australia was probably one of the safest places anywhere. He said he believed that the bad publicity received in general about Australian travel was undeserved.
"We have had bad publicity and we've been very conscious of that. Certainly, an attack of this nature appals us all," he said.
Referring to the murder of Caroline Ann Stuttle (19), from York, England, whose body was found dumped under a bridge in Bundaberg, Queensland, last Wednesday, Mr Halverson said: "My message to all the young people who want to come here is that Australia remains an exciting, warm and generous place to travel. Generally, Australia is probably one of the safest places on Earth. Nevertheless, when travelling a long way from home, where there are different customs, use your wit and caution."
To families who had young people there, he said, he would ask them to make sure that the young people called by mobile phone, tele-card or return call to reassure everyone that they were safe.
In June 2000, Ms Julie O'Keeffe, from Bray, Co Wicklow, was one of 15 backpackers who died when fire swept through the 100-year-old Palace Backpackers' Hostel in Childers, a small farming town 300 km north of Brisbane. A homeless Australian fruit picker, Robert Long (38), was jailed for a minimum of 20 years without parole for murder and arson.
Last year, Peter Falconio, from Britain, was reportedly abducted from the Northern Territory.
No trace has been found of him since.
In 1996, Ivan Milat was jailed for the murders of seven young backpackers in New South Wales.