Violent tourist area where 'British man' was 'lynched and burned alive' in Ecuador

One of the most tropical, natural locations on Earth is actually one of the most dangerous - in fact, the Foreign Office warns against travelling to the area.

The Amazon Rainforest may be one of the most spectacular sights in the world, home to millions of species of plants and animals, but it turns out that a chunk of it is strictly off limits for tourists.

For reference, the rainforest is about 6.7 million square kilometres in size, or about 28 times the size of the UK, and spans across nine countries.

You may have had a glimpse of it in nature documentaries or TV shows, but there is one area you definitely haven't seen, and it's around the border of Ecuador and Colombia.

The area is known as a crime haven, and it was recently reported that a man, reported to be British, was violently murdered by a baying mob after venturing into the area.

The Sucumbíos region is known for its greenery and range of wildlife (Getty Stock Image)

He was allegedly accused of murder and dragged out of a police station by a group claiming to be vigilantes, local news publications say.

The man is believed to have suffered an unforgiving death at the hands of the mob in the Sucumbíos region of Ecuador.

His connection with a fatal shooting on Sunday (20 April) resulted in his arrest, as the man was then dragged out by a group of locals, who took him to the remote Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve.

This occurred just six hours after his arrest, as locals stormed the station to serve their own justice.

Cuyabeno is the second largest reserve in Ecuador. Here, it is said that he was set on fire, which resulted in life-ending injuries.

It was then reported by a local TV station that two people had died: "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 man was said to be tortured to death in a wildlife reserve (Cuyabeno TV)

It is said that the crowd lynched him before burning him alive, with another publication, Ecuavisa, stating that he was taken to the wildlife reserve, a popular eco-tourism area.

Part of the Sucumbíos Province and in the Putamayo Canton, the luscious area is popular for people to visit to see animals such as monkeys, river dolphins, and caimans.

Some even go for a relaxing canal ride down the rivers, but it seems like certain areas of this nature-filled hotspot are incredibly dangerous.

Violence throughout the Sucumbíos region in particular has escalated, with gangs often leaving bodies behind, tied up and sometimes covered in bullet holes.

Ecuadorian authorities declared a state of emergency after more than 150 people were killed in the region alone in 2024.

The Foreign Office has warned against visiting the Sucumbíos region (top right) and areas around it near the borders of Colombia (Getty Stock Image)

The area has seen several massacres and crimes, according to local outlets, earmarking itself as a location that tourists should steer clear of.

The Foreign Office advises against 'all but essential travel' to the areas around the border between Ecuador and Colombia, going beyond the Sucumbíos region, citing 'the presence of organised crime linked to the production and trafficking of drugs'.

Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo has reported that police are yet to issue a statement, as they are still collecting information on the case.

LADbible has reached out to the Foreign Office and the Ecuadorian Police for comment.

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