Police arrest last two fugitives in killing of Sir Peter

7.22 am

MACAPA, Brazil - Brazilian police have arrested the last two suspects in the killing of New Zealand yachtsman Sir Peter Blake, who was shot dead last week when pirates boarded his vessel in a distant outpost of the Amazon jungle.

Federal police in Macapa, near the mouth of the Amazon River, said they tracked down the two fugitives on a nearby island, ending a manhunt for a group of six who allegedly killed the world-famous yachtsman.

"We captured the two that were missing early this morning, hidden away," said police spokesman Jose Araujo. "Now we've got the whole group."

The pirates, known in the region as "River Rats," slipped aboard Blake's moored vessel Seamaster late on Wednesday (local time). Four men confessed to the attack on Friday, saying they shot at crewmembers in self-defence after they opened fire.

Blake, 53, was shot twice in the back and died immediately.

Araujo said police found a watch and an inflatable dinghy with the two remaining suspects, adding to the watches, cameras and cash they confiscated from the rest of the pirates last week.

Blake's body was expected to be released on Monday to New Zealand Ambassador Denise Almao, who rushed to Macapa, the capital of Brazil's poor Amazon state of Amapa, when the news of Blake's death broke on Thursday (local time).

Blake will be buried in southern England, where his family had made their home, said New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark. Last month Clark visited Blake in Brazil, where Seamaster was on a two-month environmental awareness expedition.

Seamaster was on its way back to sea when the attack occurred near Macapa, a city of 220,000 people that sits on the equator.

Two of Seamaster's crew are scheduled to fly out of Brazil once substitutes arrive from the rest of the expedition in Venezuela to sail Seamaster out of Brazilian territory, police said.

- REUTERS

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