Bandits blamed for killing trekkers

The group were walking in the Himalayan foothills

A Spanish woman and her teenage son have been killed by a group of bandits while trekking in the Himalayan mountain foothills in northern India.

Maria Angeles Girones, 34, and her son Cristobal, 14, from Valencia, were apparently beaten to death with wooden clubs and thrown into a gorge in the remote Parvati valley.

Martin Young, 32, a British man who is engaged to Ms Girones survived the attack but was seriously wounded with several broken bones.

He has been taken to a hospital 325km (225 miles) north of the capital Delhi, where his condition is described as "serious, but not life threatening".

Trekkers unaccompanied

According to local police, four bandits armed with wooden clubs attacked the group in the thickly forested area renowned for its sulphurous springs.

Police say the motive appeared to be robbery and the trekkers' passports, money and camera equipment were taken.

A spokesman said the trekkers had ventured into the remote area alone and were not accompanied by porters or guides.

Last month, a German tourist was killed in the same district.