Gun battle traps more than 200 tourists at Rio viewpoint / Photo: © Na Favela Turismo/AFP
-
A throne on wheels, popemobiles star in new Vatican show
-
Ceasefire in Russia-occupied Ukrainian city holds for second day
-
Spain high-speed train crash kills 68, injures over 100
-
Canada hikes rates to contain oil price surge caused by Iran war
-
UK woman drugged by husband tells rape trial she woke up bound
-
World Bank warns of worsening food insecurity as commodity prices soar
-
Clean-up starts as Serbian students movement prepares to govern
-
Mona Lisa scrubbed from Syrian textbooks as critics slam conservative drift
-
Flavio Bolsonaro: right-wing heir falls from presidential hopeful to exile
-
Bolsonaro flees Brazil for US after election defeat: AFP
-
UK budget lifts bank tax to offset surging energy bills
-
Brazil's Bolsonaros: between power, prison, and exile
-
Spain high-speed train collision kills 64, injures over 100
-
Israel president urges against new vote despite inconclusive result
-
Brazil's Bolsonaro lands in Florida after election defeat: AFP
-
Eala recovers to move into Tokyo quarter-finals
-
Russia woos African leaders at Moscow summit
-
COPs 'bunch of baloney' says Panama as it vies to host nature summit
-
Local ceasefire in Russia-occupied Ukrainian city holds for second day
-
Denmark mulls banning turbo chickens
-
Odegaard urges Arsenal to move on after Fleetwood upset
-
Nintendo producer 'all nervous' as Zelda classic remake hits shelves
-
Japan, Germany leaders target closer ties on critical minerals
-
Israeli Arab parties hold key as Netanyahu falls short of majority
-
Spain high-speed train collision kills 31, injures 80
-
UK comedian Brand tells rape trial 'consent is fundamental'
-
Turkey hosted Libya east-west reunification talks last week
-
Shadman guides Bangladesh to 213-3 in West Indies Test
-
Spain high-speed train collision kills 30
-
Tech optimism lifts stocks ahead of Fed update on rates
-
Plane reportedly carrying Brazil's Bolsonaro departs Ecuador
-
No penalty practice for Fleetwood hero Haughey before he downs Arsenal
-
Springboks pick six uncapped players for Nations Championship
-
Billionaire Ambani's Jio soars in market debut after India's biggest IPO
-
Israel's unassuming President Herzog holds keys to next government
-
Cross-border abductions threaten Kenya's status as dissident refuge
-
Real Madrid apologise to China over Mbappe comments
-
'Eat the rich': Indonesians protest against graft, wildfires
-
Three killed by storm in southern India
-
Netanyahu bloc leads as Israeli votes counted, but no majority
-
China says takes Mbappe apology 'seriously' after Mao remark
-
Cyclone eases after lashing India coast, no deaths reported
-
Flavio Bolsonaro on way to Ecuador from Argentina after fleeing Brazil
-
AI chip giant SK hynix posts seven-fold surge in quarterly operating profit
-
Netanyahu bloc leads after half of Israeli votes counted but no majority
-
Two hundred 'Cruise for life' passengers stranded in Cambodia
-
India vows action after first cheetah shot dead
-
Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren on the joys of filming 'MobLand'
-
'Now or Never': Ethiopia influencers push for Eritrea invasion
-
S.African activists push back on data centre rush
Gun battle traps more than 200 tourists at Rio viewpoint
More than 200 tourists were trapped Monday atop an iconic hill overlooking Rio de Janeiro after a gunfight broke out between police and drug gangs in a nearby favela, authorities and a tour operator said.
Visitors were stranded for about two hours on Morro Dois Irmaos -- or Two Brothers Hill -- while fighting raged on a hillside below them between police and members of Comando Vermelho, one of Brazil's largest criminal groups.
The hilltop, which overlooks Ipanema and Leblon beaches from its 533-meter (1,750-feet) height, is one of the city's most famous viewpoints and attracts thousands of visitors each week.
"There were more than 200 people taking the tour this morning. Seventy percent were foreign tourists," Renan Monteiro, from the tour operator Favela Turismo, told AFP.
Monteiro lamented that news of such gun battles would hurt tourism.
Police said in a statement that when officers arrived at the Vidigal favela, drug traffickers opened fire.
The tourists descended the hill after receiving the green light from the police. The operation resulted in the arrest of three people and no injuries.
Rio received more than 2.1 million international visitors in 2025, a record.
S.Spengler--VB