Footage from social media shows a police helicopter getting into difficulty after being shot at while flying over a Rio de Janeiro slum known as City of God. The helicopter crashed, killing four officers on board, although it is not yet clear whether the gunfire was the direct cause of the crash </s> Image copyright AP Image caption Firefighters recovered four bodies from the wreckage of the aircraft

Four police officers have died after their helicopter crashed over Rio de Janeiro's notorious City of God favela.

In video footage of the crash, sustained gunfire can be heard before the helicopter drops from the sky, narrowly missing a main road.

The helicopter was giving support to a police operation against gangs in the favela, according to police.

Police reportedly began a large scale operation on Sunday in western Rio, with arrests and seizures of drugs.

'Fell in a ditch'

There had been several clashes during Saturday between police and criminal gangs operating in the City of God favela area.

Firefighters removed the bodies of the victims from the wreckage, which could be seen in the footage crumpled and smoking.

A police spokesman said that forensics officers were examining the wreckage to determine the cause of the crash.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Police had been carrying out anti-drugs operations on Saturday in the City of God favela

One man who saw the incident, Thiago Duarte, told Associated Press: "We were here watching the shooting in the woods... Suddenly a friend shouted 'the bullets reached the helicopter, it's going to come down!'

"It was clear that [the pilot] was trying to do everything to avoid falling over the shanty town or on the expressway, so it turned back and fell into the ditch."

On Sunday, police backed by an armoured vehicle carried out further operations, with at least two people arrested, another injured and a number of drugs seized.

Rio state security secretary Roberto Sa said police were investigating a territorial dispute between members of two favelas in western Rio.

If the helicopter was shot down by gang members, it would not be a first for the city, which hosted the 2016 Olympics.

In 2009, drug traffickers opened fire on a police helicopter, causing it to explode and crash land on a football pitch, killing both pilots.

Violence has been on the rise in Rio over the past two years following the failure of a 2010 programme to rid the favelas of drug gangs.

A total of 3,649 murders were reported in 2016 up until the end of September, a rise of almost 18% on the same period last year. </s> MEXICO CITY, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Suspected gang members shot down a helicopter in a clash with police in the dangerous western Mexico state of Sinaloa on Tuesday, killing four people, the state's governor said.

Silvano Aureoles, the governor of Michoacan state, said on Twitter that the operation took place near the violent city of Apatzingan, and was aimed at detaining "leaders of criminal cells". It was not immediately which gang was responsible.

"During the operation, an official helicopter which was supporting the patrol in area of difficult access was shot down," he said. "We lament the death of the pilot, three police officers and a police officer who was injured." (Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter, Adriana Barrera and Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Simon Gardner) </s> Brazil bank robbery: Five hostages and six robbers have been shot dead

Gunfire erupted in the city of Milagres, in the state of Ceara, when police were waiting as the robbers attempted to escape from the second bank. The gang was shot dead in a fierce shootout which lasted 20 minutes. Five people taken hostage were killed by the robbers, the mayor of Milagres said.

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Local media reports that four of the hostages were from the same family. One of the group was a child.

They were reportedly travelling to the nearby airport when the gang took them hostage while making their escape.

Mayor Lielson Landin told Radio Band News: "Our information from the hospital is 11 victims killed - six bandits and five hostages.”

Landin added that “the criminals killed the hostages, and police killed the criminals”.

Some Brazilian media reports put the total death toll as high as 13. </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption A wrecked car stood outside one of the banks targeted by the gang

At least five hostages, including a child, have died as armed police battled robbers who had tried to raid two banks in north-east Brazil.

Six other people also died in the gun battle in the city of Milagres, reports say. It is not clear if they were robbers or police officers.

The mayor of Milagres, in Ceara state, said the hostages were killed by their captors as police moved in.

Two suspected robbers were arrested, Brazilian media reported.

Four of the hostages, including the child, were all from the same family, city mayor Lielson Landim told Radio Band News.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption A wrecked car stood outside one of the banks targeted by the gang

According to initial reports, police surprised the robbers in the early hours of the morning and engaged them in a shootout. The gang then fled, reportedly grabbing the hostages on their way.

Mr Landim, quoted by Brazil's Globo newspaper, said the gang had blocked a road with a truck and seized the family from a vehicle that was forced to stop.

"The criminals killed the hostages and the police killed the criminals," he added.

However, a spokeswoman for the state governor said that 12 people had died, including six police officers.

Security officials said police had seized guns and explosives used by the gang. Three vehicles had been used in the attempted robberies on two bank branches, they added. </s> A gang brought down a helicopter during a police operation in Mexico's troubled western state of Michoacan on Tuesday, killing the pilot and three officers, the governor said.

The aircraft was backing an operation to arrest leaders of criminal groups when the "official helicopter was downed" in an area with rough terrain, Governor Silvano Aureoles wrote on Twitter.

Another officer was injured in the crash.

Mr Aureoles did not say how the helicopter was shot down in the region of Apatzingan, a city located in Tierra Caliente (Hot Land), a region that has been beset by drug violence and vigilante justice for years.

"In accordance to the responsibility to protect citizens, the state and federation won't give up in the frontal fight against crime," the governor wrote. </s> At least five hostages, including a child, have died as armed police battled robbers who had tried to raid two banks in north-east Brazil.

Six robbers also died when police engaged them in a gun battle in the city of Milagres, reports say.

The mayor of Milagres, in Ceara state, said the hostages were killed by their captors as police moved in.

Two suspected robbers were also arrested in the operation, Brazilian media reported.

Four of the hostages, including the child, were all from the same family, city mayor Lielson Landim told Radio Band News.

According to initial reports, police surprised the robbers in the early hours of the morning and engaged them in a shootout. The gang then fled, grabbing the hostages on their way.

Some media reports put the death toll at 13.

Mr Landim, quoted by Brazil's Globo newspaper, said the gang had blocked a road with a truck and seized the family from a vehicle that was forced to stop.

"The criminals killed the hostages and the police killed the criminals," he added.

Security officials said police had seized guns and explosives used by the gang. Three vehicles had been used in the attempted robberies on two bank branches, they added. </s> RIO DE JANEIRO A police helicopter in Rio de Janeiro crashed Saturday evening, killing four officers after a day of intense firefights between law enforcement and suspected criminals in the slum known as City of God.

It was not clear whether the helicopter had been hit by gunfire or whether another factor caused it to go down. In a statement, the police said they were investigating.

Amateur video sent to local television stations showed the aircraft spinning as it appeared to plummet straight down. The helicopter fell in a populated area near City of God, but crashed in an open space near a major highway.

Firefighters extricated the victims' bodies from the wreckage Saturday evening.

Crime and violence have rebounded across Rio, just months after Brazil's second-biggest city hosted the 2016 Olympics.

An economic recession, rising unemployment and overstretched public finances have emboldened criminal groups in areas like City of God, one of the best known of the city's so-called favelas, sprawling slums that stretch across vast suburbs and climb up the scenic hillsides of central Rio.

In recent years, police had successfully pushed out drug traffickers and other gangs from many favelas.

Still, crime is now worsening just as the state government, responsible for most security across a region of more than 16 million people, faces an expected budget shortfall of about 20 billion reais ($5.91 billion).

The murder rate across Rio through September climbed almost 18 percent from the same period a year earlier, to 3,649 reported deaths, according to state statistics. Street crimes, including heists on public transport, surged by 44 percent, to nearly 92,000 reported incidents.

Though crime in Rio remains far lower than its peak in the 1980s and '90s, recent firefights and the crash on Saturday recalled periods in which the city erupted in conflict.

In 2009, drug traffickers shot down a helicopter, killing two crew members, as police were seeking to "pacify" favelas ahead of the Olympics and 2014 World Cup, also played partially in Rio.

The 2009 incident, the first downing of an aircraft by criminals in Rio, underscored the challenge for law enforcement in a city where heavily armed gangs increasingly possess enough firepower to contend with state security forces.

(Reporting by Paulo Prada; Editing by David Gregorio) </s> RIO DE JANEIRO: Eleven people - six bank robbers and five hostages, including a child - were killed Friday (Dec 7) in a pre-dawn assault on two banks in northeast Brazil foiled by police, the local mayor said.

The violence erupted in the city of Milagres, in the northeastern state of Ceara, with a fierce pre-dawn shootout between the armed robbers and the police.

"Our information from the hospital is 11 victims killed - six bandits and five hostages," the mayor of Milagres, Lielson Landin, told Radio Band News.

He said four of the hostages, including the child, were all from the same family. They had been grabbed by the fleeing robbers as they were going to the nearby airport to catch a flight.

Landin said that "the criminals killed the hostages and the police killed the criminals."

Some Brazilian media gave higher death tolls, of up to 13, and said the child killed was a 14-year-old boy.

The attempted robbery of the two banks occurred at 2.17am local time. When police arrived, a shootout lasting 20 minutes ensued, reports said.
Four policemen are killed in Brazil after their helicopter is shot down by a "gang".