WATCH: Terrifying moment Australian family reverses at speed to escape armed bandits in PNG
An Australian family has narrowly escaped a terrifying armed hold-up in Papua New Guinea, thanks to a quick-thinking dad’s remarkable driving.
Roxy Steljic and her husband, who are both administration workers at the Pacific Adventist University, set out on a sightseeing tour with their two young children, aged six and eight, and her father-in-law when they noticed a vehicle tailing them.
Dashcam footage shows the silver sedan overtaking them, but further down the road in Sogeri it comes to a halt and blocks the road.
Four heavily armed men emerge from the car and run towards the Australians' vehicle.
Wasting no time, Ms Steljic's husband throws the car into reverse and backs up the hill at high-speed, as the would-be attackers desperately give chase.
With expert composure, the packed car can be seen adding distance from the armed men, zipping past a white Mercedes – a car the attackers had no visible interest in.
“The group was armed with guns and bats and one of them was wearing a mask,” Ms Steljic wrote on Facebook.
She said one man holding a “machete or a bat” dropped it and picked it up again as the other sprinted towards their vehicle.
It’s thought the second car could have been an accomplice attempting to block the family’s path.
While the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs recommends visitors exercise a high degree of caution, Ms Steljic said they were determined to have a good time but said the experience left them traumatised.
