Three Virgin Australia staff have been confined to their hotel rooms over an ‘incident’ linked to theft and the alleged sexual assault of two Australian airline crew members.
The Fiji Sun reported the matter allegedly took place after an evening of clubbing in Martintar, Nadi, on Tuesday.
‘We confirm police are investigating the Australian airline crew case as they were victims of theft of allegations of sexual assault after clubbing,’ Acting Police Commissioner, Juki Fong Chew said.
It is not yet clear if any arrests have been made, but Mr Chew added that ‘locals are the suspects’.
The crew members are currently confined to separate rooms at Hotel Tanoa, near Nadi International Airport.
Virgin officials have flown to Fiji to investigate the incident, Seven News reported.
The families of the crew involved have travelled to the island nation.
A replacement crew will stand in for the airplane’s flight back to Australia.
Three Virgin Australia flight crew have been confined to separate hotel rooms in Fiji after an ‘incident’ (stock image)
The crew members are holed up in the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi
Virgin Australia confirmed an incident occurred in Fiji but refused to provide more details.
‘Our focus is on the wellbeing of our team members affected, a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Out of respect for our crew we will not be providing further comment.’
The incident comes amid strained diplomatic relations between Australia and the South Pacific nation in recent weeks.
A mass alcohol poisoning incident at a luxury resort on Fiji’s Coral Coast saw six people – including four Australians – rushed to hospital with life-threatening symptoms on December 14.
As a result, the Australian government issued a warning for travels heading to Fiji.
‘Be alert to the potential risks around drink spiking and methanol poisoning through consuming alcoholic drinks,’ the Smarttraveller website states.
The Warrick hotel, where the six people were rushed to hospital, is pictured
‘Don’t leave food or drinks unattended, and pay attention when your drinks are being mixed. Get urgent medical help if you suspect drink spiking.’
Following the release of toxicology reports which indicated there were no traces of illegal substances or methanol, Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka pleaded with Australia – and several other nations – to ease their advice.
‘I’ll just ask our … friends from foreign governments to please review the travel advisory.
‘Take away the word ‘spike’ from the advisories, and take away all those precautionary stuff that could affect people making the decisions for [visiting] Fiji, so I’m asking them to try if they could review that.’
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