Rio, October 18: At least 12 people have been killed and a helicopter downed in fierce clashes between drug gangs and police in Rio de Janeiro.
It is one of the worst recent outbreaks of violence in Rio and comes two weeks after the city was awarded the 2016 Olympic Games, despite worries over its high levels of violence and poor security.
Two policemen were killed while two others were wounded early on Saturday when their helicopter was shot down by drug traffickers in a day of running battles in the slums of northern Rio, said military police commander Mario Sergio Duarte.
The helicopter had been carrying six police officers as part of an operation in one of Rio’s hundreds of slums, which are dominated by heavily armed drug gangs, police said.
They said the helicopter exploded after it landed and that the four surviving officers were wounded, suffering from burns.
Nine buses were also set on fire in other neighborhoods close to “Morro dos Macacos” favela, in retaliation for a police operation aimed at controlling heavy gun battles between rival drug gangs in the area.
Rio’s win to host the 2016 Olympic Games, the first ever to be held in South America, is a serious challenge for the city in terms of security.
Some 6,000 people were murdered in Rio de Janeiro in 2008 alone.
—–Agencies