A HAMPSHIRE nurse and her fiancé are today hoping to fly out of a South American city after days trapped in a hostel as violence erupted on the streets.

Erika Schwamborn, 29, and James Collins were last night sleeping at the airport in the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas after they and hundreds of other hostages were dramatically rescued by the country’s army and air force.

They were flown by air force plane to Punta Arenas from Puerto Natales in Patagonia where they had been stranded in a hostel for four days.

When they arrived the airport was closed but they were hoping restrictions would be lifted today.

In an e-mail they said: “We’re in sleeping bags and warm – but no food.”

The couple, who are on a round-the- world trip, were stuck in the hostel with at least 300 other tourists due to road blocks and a tense stand-off between protesters and police.

As reported in Saturday’s Daily Echo Erika, from Lyndhurst ,believed tourists were being used as a bargaining tool between the government and demonstrators protesting about a hike in prices of natural gas used for fuel, to heat homes and provide energy for businesses.

Cars were set ablaze and at least two people were killed as angry activists ran riot in large parts of southern Chile.

Shops closed and public transport ground to a halt, making it impossible to get food. Ferries are suspended from Punta Arenas, where two women were killed and a two-year-old girl seriously injured when a truck ran into a barricade made from vehicles.

Rioters also stopped people crossing the border to Argentina.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has urged travellers to keep away from the area and offered consular assistance to those who have been affected. The British Embassy in Chile was also involved in discussions with the Chilean government.

Speaking from his Lyndhurst home last night, Erika’s dad Peter, 66, a retired Merchant Navy worker, said: “We haven’t got a lot of information, although they seem quite cheerful.

“The airport is closed and they can’t go anywhere. They might be able to fly out tomorrow but we don’t know where they will go from there.”

Erika and car salesman James left the UK in November 2009 for their trip around the globe and were originally due back in March.

Peter said the couple might decide to return sooner after their ordeal.