Twenty-nine European tourists, including 15 Germans and eight Austrians, are missing in the Sahara desert in Algeria.
German and Austrian police have travelled to the region tojoin the hunt for the tourists, some of whom have not been heardof since late February.
Austria's President Thomas Klestil asked Algeria's PresidentAbdelaziz Bouteflika in a letter today to "do his utmost" toensure all is done to find the missing Austrians.
Foreign minister, Mr Benita Ferrero-Waldner said: "I have noinformation about what kind of groups might be involved here, ifthey are terrorist groups or purely criminal groups. Nothing canbe ruled out at this point."
"Other Austrians who are in Algeria should not go to thiscrisis region," Mr Ferrero-Waldner said, referring to southernAlgeria.
The German criminal investigation agency, Bundeskriminalamt(BKA), said five investigators had headed to Algeria yesterdayto work with local authorities in the search.