It should have been their last night roughing it, sleeping on the floor of a guesthouse built from sticks, before five Britons returned to the comfort of Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, where they worked.

But yesterday the three 4x4s that should have taken them home from the heart of the Danakil desert in Ethopia stood abandoned in the tiny village of Hamedelah.

One pickup had been burnt out completely. Bullet holes peppered the screen of a white Toyota and the door of a Land Rover had been blown out by a grenade. An empty sunglasses case, an abandoned mobile phone on the dashboard and the British diplomatic licence plates were the only clues to the identities of those snatched in the early morning raid.

Witnesses said that about 30 armed men had been involved in the attack — some riding camels. A young goatherd said: “I was fast asleep in the hut over there. But all the noise and shouting woke me up. I came out to see what was happening and saw the faranji [foreigners] being taken away on foot by men in uniforms. After they were away they threw a grenade at the car to make sure no one could follow.”

Hamedelah stands in the heart of the Danakil Depression, one of the least hospitable environments on the planet. Temperatures reached 40C (105F) yesterday, as a hairdryer wind swept volcanic dust across open desert.

The men — dressed in loose shirts and sarongs — carry rifles for protection against the threat of tribal bandits.

A team of British officials from the Embassy in Addis Ababa completed the bone-jarring journey along dried-up river beds and rutted gravel tracks to Hamedelah, about 500 miles (805km) from the capital, yesterday. It had taken more than a day to travel from the nearest airport at Mekele.

Other teams are believed to be scouring the arid north of Ethiopia in search of the three men and two women, who were all connected to the British Embassy in Addis Ababa.

The team in Hamedelah examined two of the vehicles and interviewed Ali Muham-mad, one of 13 Ethiopians snatched from the village along with the Britons. He said that he had been woken by a noise at about 3am on Thursday and was beaten as he emerged from his hut. The attackers forced him to walk for two hours towards the Eritrean border. Most of the men — about 30 armed with AK47 rifles — wore Eritrean uniforms.

“When we were a certain distance they brought the British people,” said the 20-year-old saltminer in the local Afar dialect. “It was dark when they arrived so it was difficult to see their expressions, or how they were being treated.”

He was released, along with five other Ethiopians. Another of those let free, Hussein Idriss, who was presented to journalists by Ethiopian officials, said he was sure that the raiders were Eritrean.

“I knew they were Eritreans because they were taking us towards the Eritrean border post and they also wore Eritrean army uniforms,” he said.

No one has contacted the British or Ethiopian governments with demands.

All that is certain is that the five Britons were taken in the direction of the Eritrean border, about three hours hard march away. Ethiopia and Eritrea have traded accusations over the incident.

For now, British officials prefer to assume nothing. “If, as has been speculated, the group is being held against their will, it may be they have been victims of mistaken identity,” said Bob Dewar, the British Ambassador to Ethiopia. He added that everything possible was being done to find out what had happened.

A rescue team including SAS troops has been assembled.

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