A British man died in Ecuador after he was dragged out of a police station and lynched by a mob, local media reported.
The man, whose identity wasn’t disclosed, was in custody at a police station in the riverside village of Playas del Cuyabeno, a tourist entry point to the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, when a mob reportedly broke in, dragged him out to the street, killed him, and set his body on fire.
He was said to have been suspected of involvement in a fatal shooting.
The lynching took place right outside the police station at around 12.30pm on 20 April, according to local news outlet Extra, which described it as a “shocking act of apparent community justice”.
A police report identified the victim only as an “English national”.
Police confirmed the man had been arrested early in the morning on 20 April. He had been “intercepted and beaten by local residents” who accused him of fatally shooting a local person.
Police took him to the station for his own safety while waiting for specialist units to transfer him to Lago Agrio, around 75 miles away.
A local police chief was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying: “We are still trying to establish the specific identity of the citizen we believe is a British national.
“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.”
The police chief said: “There had been problems between the two men that died,” adding: “The man we believe to be British had shot a local man, causing his death. He was subsequently arrested by police.”
According to Extra, the specialist units were “slow to arrive due to the geographical conditions of the area” despite “advance warning of the risk to the detainee”.
Nearly six hours after the arrest, a mob of local villagers reportedly forced their way into the police station. Extra reported that the officers at the station chose not to intervene in case the mob harmed them or damaged state property.
However, the police chief told the Mail there were seven officers at the station at the time and police “did everything humanly possible to safeguard” the suspect, adding of the locals: “They were carrying guns and other weapons including stones, sticks, spears and even cans of petrol they were threatening to burn the police station down with and harm officers.”
Another Ecuadorian media outlet, Ecuavisa, reported that the man died of burns hours after being set alight.
The British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was reported to be investigating the reports and collaborating with local authorities to verify the man’s identity. The FCDO did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent.