The young Maltese singer enjoying a light moment in Istanbul the day before the alleged abduction attempt.

Davinia Pace, the 21-year-old singer who recently participated in the Eurovision Malta contest, claimed two men yesterday tried to kidnap her and her sister during a family trip in Turkey.

The incident allegedly happened in Istanbul when Ms Pace and her sister were returning to their hotel in a taxi.

Out of the blue, kidnappers appeared outside the vehicle, which was caught up in traffic, and tried to force them out and load them onto a van. However, no police report was filed.

Details of the incident emerged yesterday afternoon when the young Maltese singer posted a short but dramatic account on Facebook, saying she had witnessed “first-hand human trafficking”.

She claimed that men armed with a machinegun were seen waiting for them inside a van parked at the side of the road.

Contacted later, Ms Pace recounted that after spending the morning sightseeing the city centre, she decided to go back to the hotel together with her sister, since their parents planned to stay out longer.

The alleged abduction attempt took place some minutes after they boarded the taxi in a rather remote but busy road where traffic was moving very slowly.

“All of a sudden, two men approached the taxi and started banging violently on the doors and staring at us.”

Initially, the girls thought the men were only interested in stealing the vehicle but realised they were the targets when they told the driver they wanted the “tourists”.

“Luckily, the driver refused to comply to their demands and after getting punched in his face, he managed to speed off, as the road had cleared,” she recounted.

She added that initially the aggressors had forced open the vehicle door next to her sister as it was not locked but they were fended off.

“At that moment we noticed a van with the doors open, with two men inside holding something in their pockets,” she said.

Asked whether they had filed a police report, she said the hotel security advised them this would have been of little help, once they could not remember the registration plate of the van.

Ms Pace said her family were in a state of shock and they were looking forward to return to Malta tomorrow.

The Maltese singer vowed that the second visit to Turkey would be their last following her harrowing experience.