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15 de outubro de 2009Governo taxa capital externo a partir de hoje
20 de outubro de 2009Brazilian officials are insisting security won’t be a problem for the 2016 Olympics despite drug-gang violence that plunged Rio de Janeiro into a day of bloody chaos just two weeks after it was picked to host the Games.
An hourslong firefight between rival gangs in one of the city’s slums killed at least 12 people, injured six and saw a police helicopter shot down and eight buses set on fire Saturday.
Two officers died and four were injured Saturday when bullets from the gang battle ripped into their helicopter hovering overhead, forcing it into a fiery crash-landing on a soccer field. Officials said they did not know if the gangs targeted the helicopter or it was hit by stray bullets.
Gunfire on the ground killed 10 suspected gunmen and wounded two bystanders.
Authorities said the violence would only toughen their resolve to improve security ahead of the Olympics.
Rio state public safety director Jose Beltrame told reporters Sunday that the violence was limited to a specific area of the city of 6 million and “is not a problem throughout all of Rio de Janeiro.”
Saturday’s fighting raged about five miles southwest of one of the zones where Rio’s 2016 Olympics will be held. AP
