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'Total of five people arrested' over killing of British pilot in Tanzania | 'Total of five people arrested' over killing of British pilot in Tanzania |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Five people have been arrested in Tanzania following the fatal shooting of a British helicopter pilot who was flying an anti-poaching mission. | |
The Friedkin Conservation Fund said that more arrests were expected following the killing of Roger Gower, who was flying on a joint operation with Tanzanian wildlife authorities in the Maswa game reserve, near Serengeti national park, on 29 January. | |
His helicopter crashed after being hit by rounds from an AK-47 rifle fired from the ground. | |
Related: Tanzania searches for elephant poacher killers of British pilot | Related: Tanzania searches for elephant poacher killers of British pilot |
The Texas-based Friedkin group, which oversees conservation projects in Tanzania, said the detainees included a suspected gunman and accomplices, as well as members of a network providing illegal weapons and smuggling ivory. | |
Gower, 37, and a safari guide, Nicky Bester, were flying close to the ground searching for gunmen who had killed three elephants in the Maswa reserve when the gang started shooting at the helicopter. | |
A bullet is understood to have passed through the floor of the helicopter, hitting Gower first in the leg then in the shoulder before exiting through the roof. | |
Despite being shot Gower was able to fly the helicopter down into a tree, allowing Bester to jump to safety and hide from the poachers in a thicket, wildlife authorities said. | |
Gower grew up in Birmingham and trained as an accountant in London before becoming a helicopter pilot in 2004. | |
He had been flying from neighbouring Kenya, working for safaris and excursions, before moving to Tanzania last October to join a tour operator called Legendary Expeditions. | |
Max Gower told the Evening Standard: “He had found something he was really good at and took a lot of pride in that. He ferried British soldiers around, he helped presenter Simon Reeve make wildlife documentaries and he flew tourists, including Bill Gates and Jessica Biel.” | |
Almost £50,000 has been raised on a JustGiving page set up by his brothers Max and John Gower to help anti-poaching efforts in Tanzania and ensure that “some good should come out of Roger’s tragic death”. | |
They wrote: “Those who knew [Roger] will remember his idiosyncrasies but also his principles and his infectious love of having fun. He will be sorely missed by all.” |