Brazilian police have launched a criminal investigation into the disappearance of British journalist Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira, an expert on indigenous affairs in the Amazon region. Four witnesses who saw the two just before their disappearance are heard.
Phillips and Pereira went missing on Sunday in Javario in the Brazilian Amazon, a remote area of rainforest near the border with Peru. The couple were last seen on a boat that would take them across the Itaqui River to Atalaia do Norte, a town of about 14,000.
They were supposed to be in town three hours after they left. But when they had not arrived after eight hours, Univaja sounded the alarm. This is a comprehensive organization of the indigenous people of the rainforest.
Every minute counts
The Navy then sent rescuers to the area where the men were last seen. Regional police and the National Guard were also mobilized. Area residents and environmental activists launched their own local searches.
The Pereira family calls on the Brazilian authorities to use all means as soon as possible to find the two. “Every minute counts,” the family said.
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