Nine hikers shot in Colombia

BOGOTA, Colombia - The bodies of nine hikers on an excursion near a national park in southwest Colombia were found at the bottom of a ravine, authorities said yesterday. They had all been shot execution-style.

National police chief Gen. Ernesto Gilibert said it was too early to speculate on who killed the hikers near the Purace National Park, home to a majestic, snowcapped volcano. All of the victims - three women and six men - were Colombians.

It was not immediately clear when they had been killed. A report in El Tiempo newspaper said the group last had been seen on Feb. 4, when one of the hikers phoned home from an archaeological site near the park.

The bodies were discovered Tuesday, and authorities initially believed they had stumbled upon a massacre of peasants - almost a daily occurrence in a 37-year war that pits leftist guerrillas against the military and right-wing paramilitary groups.

Guerrilla fronts are active in the area in western Cauca state, police said. However, officials were not pointing blame in any direction.

"It's extremely worrisome given that these were people dedicated to recreation, far removed from any kind of conflict," Gilibert said. "We have to clarify whether it was a misunderstanding or simply a homicide or a robbery."

Local media reports indicated the hike was organized by an ecological group and employees of health and recreation cooperative.