Jakarta – Two environmentalists, including a British activist, were attacked and beaten by loggers in a national park in central Indonesia, a UK-based environmental group said Sunday.

The Environmental Investigation Agency said one of its members, Faith Doherty, and an Indonesian activist were set upon by angry villagers in Kalimantan while investigating illegal logging in the Tanjung Puting National Park.

The park is one of the last known sanctuaries of the orangutan and other endangered species. Illegal logging has reduced the primate's natural habitat and it threatening its survival.

In a statement Sunday, the group's director Dave Currey said the two activists were detained by police for several hours before being flown out of the region. Immediate attempts to reach police and other government officials in the region were unsuccessful.