Five men allegedly used masking tape to bind a woman's legs as they gang-raped her in a dark Melbourne laneway.
The naked woman managed to make her way back to the Chapel Street nightclub strip in South Yarra after the assault, where a passer-by saw her and called police.
Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Michael Phyland said all five men sexually assaulted the woman, whose ankles were bound with masking tape during the attack.
"It's been a very traumatic occurrence for the victim," he said.
Det Sen Sgt Phyland said some of the details of the attack were still unclear and it was too early to tell if it was planned.
"At this stage it may appear more of an opportunistic situation," Det Sen Sgt Phyland told reporters on Tuesday.
The woman, 47, is still in hospital after the assault, which happened about 4am on Sunday.
Police say the woman was seen walking with two men near Grosvenor St, before she was raped by five men on nearby Snowball Lane.
Det Sen Sgt Phyland said the woman had been in the Chapel St area for some time that night, but was not at bars or clubs, and not with friends.
"She was on her own and she had been in that area," he said.
Asked if the woman was a sex worker, Det Sen Sgt Phyland said he would not discuss the victim's personal circumstances.
One of the men the woman was seen with was a 25- to 30-year-old Caucasian, about 175cm tall, with short blond hair, a black hoodie and dark pants.
The other was a 20- to 30-year-old man of Islander appearance, about 183cm tall, with a solid build, wearing a black shirt with white writing and a checked shirt on top of that.
Det Sen Sgt Phyland said police wanted to speak to both men but would not say if they were involved in the attack.
Police were looking through CCTV from the area for clues.
Det Sen Sgt Phyland said police believed the five men knew each other, and called on them to hand themselves in.
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