2 charged in vicious attack on tourist

SYDNEY (AP) - Two Australian teenagers have been charged in a brutal attack in a Sydney train station on a Canadian tourist in a wheelchair.

The 35-year-old man was attacked in an elevator at the Mount Druitt station on Tuesday night in an apparent robbery attempt. Police said he was punched in the face, kicked and struck repeatedly on the head with a metal bar ripped off the wheelchair, causing a skull wound and cuts.

The attack lasted three to five minutes and was captured on security video.

The teenagers, aged 15 and 16, were denied bail and charged Wednesday with assault and robbery. Their names were not released because they are minors.

Superintendent Wayne Cox from Mount Druitt police said the boys returned a few times to the fallen man to continue beating him.

"It's probably one of the most serious attacks that I've seen," he said.

The victim is in Australia visiting his girlfriend, Kristin Sharrock.

"He's a wonderful, kind, generous individual," she told reporters. "He's been through a lot in his life and he doesn't deserve what's happened to him."

The man, who wishes to remain unidentified, was involved a snowmobile accident in Canada about 10 years ago.

"It's a cowardly, horrendous, horrific thing that they've done," Sharrock said.