RABAT (Reuters) - Two female tourists from Norway and Denmark were found dead on Monday in the Atlas Mountains in central Morocco, with both having neck wounds caused by knives, the country’s interior ministry said.

The women were found in an isolated area on the way to North Africa’s highest peak of Toubkal, the ministry said in a statement.

Toubkal is a popular trekking and hiking destination 82 km (50 miles) south of Morocco’s largest tourist hub, Marrakech.

An investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances of the “criminal incident,” the statement said, without providing further details.