Two Australian pilots were found handcuffed to a tree in a Papua New Guinea swamp after their plane was hijacked by gunmen who made off with millions of dollars in cash, police said on Nov. 20.

The pilots were flying AU$2 million in cash from the capital, Port Moresby, to a bank in Western Province on Nov. 19 when the two security guards accompanying them pulled out their guns and demanded they land.

When they touched down on a disused airstrip, on an island near Port Moresby, the gunmen made off with three accomplices who had been waiting, leaving the pilots covered in mud and handcuffed to a tree.

Port Moresby's Jacksons Airport alerted police to a problem when staff noticed the aircraft had not taken the right course and had set off a distress signal.

A police air search located the plane shortly afterwards and a manhunt followed, with police tipped off by villagers that the bandits had jumped into a dinghy and headed for the mainland.

One of the hijackers was later shot dead, two were captured and a large amount of the money was recovered. The hunt was still on for the other two.