Ecuadoran authorities say they have rescued two women tourists, one from Britain and another from Australia, who were kidnapped near the Colombian border.

They were part of a group of seven tourists in a canoe

Police and armed forces staff “located and rescued the two girls, Australian and English, kidnapped in Cuyabeno,” Interior Minister José Serrano has said.

The Australian Embassy in the Chilean capital Santiago, which is responsible for Ecuador, confirmed the rescue.

The mission “has confirmed that an Australian woman and a British woman who were kidnapped in Ecuador have been released and are currently in the care of Ecuadorian authorities,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said.

Kidnappings are common among Colombian gangs.

The women, who were not immediately identified, were abducted while visiting the Cuyabeno nature reserve in the Tarapoa region, in Sucumbios province.

They were travelling in a canoe as part of a group of seven tourists – five foreigners and two Ecuadorans – and two Ecuadorans working as guides.

Australia’s Foreign Ministry said its embassy in Chile was “working urgently with Canadian and British authorities in Ecuador to obtain more information”, and officials were in contact with the women’s families. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was working with the Ecuadoran authorities over the incident.