A British tourist has died after being robbed and badly beaten by a gang of three men while hiking in South America. Kyle MacKenzie, 34, from Kent, was on an extended holiday and was said to have been planning to stay in Medellín - Colombia's second most populous city - for two months.
According to reports in newspapers in Colombia, he went walking on the Cerro de las Tres Cruces - The Hill of Three Crosses - at the start of this week. Mr MacKenzie, from Ashford, was last seen alive on Monday (Feb 27). His badly-injured body was found during the early hours of Wednesday.
Reports in the El Colombiano newspaper say he had been heard calling for help in English and was found by authorities bleeding 'profusely' - with multiple injuries to his head and body.
He was rushed to Medellín's General Hospital, but died later that day.
Before succumbing to his severe injuries, he is said to have told the authorities at his bedside that he had been robbed and beaten by three men, who took all of his belongings and abandoned him in a ravine of the hill.
The men are thought to have struck him over the head with a pistol.
Although no arrests have yet been made, Colombian Metropolitan Police Commander Colonel Henry Yesid Bello was quoted in El Colombiano as confirming that evidence of those responsible for the horrific attack had already been obtained.
Mr MacKenzie, who is understood to have worked as a landscaper, is said to be the first tourist to have been killed in Medellín - which was notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar's hometown - so far this year.
Ten foreign nationals are reported to have been killed in the city last year.
The steep Cerro de las Tres Cruces - one of the seven tutelary hills of Medellín - is said to take around an hour to complete and offers panoramic views of the city as well as the three crosses marking the hill's summit as well as an outdoor gym.
Though the hike is considered safe, most advise against climbing the route after dark.
El Colombiano report that Mr MacKenzie had arrived in the city on January 21, and planned on staying for two months.
He is said to have been born in Sweden, but held a UK passport.
His body is now at Medellin’s Forensic Medicine Institute.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Colombia and are in contact with the local authorities."
