Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve Ecuador: British man 'lynched and burned alive' after arrested in popular tourist spot

The furious group lynched the man - understood to be British - after storming the police station where he was being held, according to local media. He was taken into custody by the locals after being suspected of shooting another person dead, it is reported.

But after just a few hours of being detained, locals are said to have forced their way into the building and set the man on fire in front of cops. The horrific killing happened in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve in Ecuador’s Amazon region - a popular tourist spot - major Ecuadorian newspaper Ecuavisa reported.

Officers decided not to intervene to defend the man from the mob, according to another media outlet Extra. A local TV station reported: “In the early hours of Sunday, April 20, in the parish of Playas de Cuyabeno, at the closure of an event that took place for the anniversary of the Kichwa community, an incident occurred where, as a result, two people died.

“Those two people were a community member from the area and another person of British nationality who died due to the severity of his burns.” The Ecuadorian man killed has been named locally as Rodrigo Chavez.

A local police chief from the Sucumbios region has now given an official statement about the events which took place, explaining that locals had reacted angrily after learning the man was to be transferred out of the region. He said: "The police did everything humanly possible to safeguard the person who had been apprehended over the shooting.

"Unfortunately the size of the mob exceeded the capacities of the seven police officers who were at the scene." The police chief also shared further details on the events which led up to the double killing, saying: "There had been problems between the two men that died. The man we believe to be British had shot a local man, causing his death."

He added: "We know that he was working and teaching English and was making reservations for tourists visiting the area. But we don’t have any more information right now and that is the focus of ongoing investigations which are seeking to determine his full name as well."