TV Travel Show Caught Up In Violent Revolt With 32 Dead

Story By: Elena Kalioglo, Sub EditorJoseph GolderAgency: Central European News

Video Credit: CEN/@orelireshka_officia

The stars of a travel show got more action than they bargained for when a violent revolt broke out while they were filming in Indonesia in violence which has already left 32 people dead.

The Russian travel show “Oryol i Reshka”, which pretty much means heads and tails, involves the two presenters each week flicking a coin to see who is going to get the gold credit card, with unlimited spending, and who gets 100 USD (81.40 GBP) to last the whole weekend and nothing more.

Pictures Credit: CEN/@orelireshka_officia

For an upcoming episode, the two presenters had been sent to Papua, the largest and easternmost province of Indonesia.

Filming went well for one of the hosts, 26-year-old Anton Zaitsev, who together with his team then flew onto Jakarta.

Pictures Credit: CEN/@orelireshka_officia

But his co-presenter, 30-year-old Alina Astrovskaya, together with her cameraman, director and producer, were still on location when an armed uprising exploded in the region.

So far the fighting has left 32 people dead and is reportedly one of the worst violent eruptions in recent years, with thousands escaping to shelters as civilians clashed with security forces.

Pictures Credit: CEN/@orelireshka_officia

The trouble is over alleged racism against indigenous people amid calls for self-rule. Trouble had been simmering since dozens of local students were tear gassed and suffered alleged racial abuse in the second biggest city in the country, Surabaya.

A spokesman for the production company said: “Part of our team ended up trapped in the middle of protests in the province of Papua, Indonesia. For the moment they are safe, but the airport is closed, there is no immediate confrontation although the police and the military on the streets.”

Pictures Credit: CEN/@orelireshka_officia

They said that the team were cut off from communications and were not for example able to speak to the relatives. with the electricity off and the internet blocked.

However they were no longer in the danger zone after locals managed to get them evacuated on a military plane.

The spokesman added: “Many thanks to the person who managed to evacuate our team, Nathaniel Immanuel Hadi. Thanks to him, the guys were able to fly out of Papua. “

The spokesman added that the team are now on their way “to where there is peace and quiet.”

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.