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| Caribbean-Latin America | |
| Rio drug gang downs police helicopter | |
| 2009-10-17 | |
| TWO Brazilian policemen were killed when their helicopter came under fire from a gang in a slum below and burst into flames after making an emergency landing. The pilot struggled to put the helicopter down safely after being shot in the leg by suspected drug traffickers while flying over a Rio slum, a public security official said. The aircraft exploded shortly after touching down, leaving two officers stuck inside the burning wreckage. Two others, including the pilot, managed to escape, said Major Oderlei Santos. The incident happened at the Morro dos Macacos favela, where police responded to gunfire between rival drug gangs nearby shortly after dawn. After the crash, a fresh gunbattle broke out as more than 100 policemen backed by armoured vehicles and special forces tried to regain control of the area. Urban violence is widespread in Rio, where nearly one third of the two-million-strong population live in slums. The incident comes just weeks after the city was awarded the 2016 summer Olympics.
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| Posted by:Oztralian |