Eloise Dixon named as British tourist shot driving into Brazilian favela

Language mix-up reportedly sees family enter dangerous neighbourhood home to a notorious drug trafficking gang

The family were targeted after trying to find somewhere to buy water (Facebook)

A British woman shot in the stomach after she and her family mistakenly drove into a favela in Brazil has been named as 46-year-old Eloise Dixon.

Ms Dixon was travelling with her partner and their three children in Angra dos Reis, 90 miles east of Rio de Janeiro and close to the popular tourist town of Paraty, when she was attacked, police said.

Reports said a language mix-up saw them enter the Agua Santa neighbourhood, an area associated with drug trafficking gang Terceiro Comando Puro, or Pure Third Command, after they apparently asked for directions to buy bottled water.

The rented Renault the family were travelling in was approached by a group who told them to get out of the vehicle before opening fire.

Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported that the family’s lack of Portuguese meant they failed to understand orders to leave the area by members of the gang.

A police statement said the woman was hit in the abdomen and was taken to nearby Japuiba General Hospital.

Rodrigo Mucheli, medical director at the facility, said “the bullet travelled through her abdomen but luckily didn’t hit any major arteries or vital organs”.

The rest of the family, including the couple’s three daughters, the youngest aged four, were unhurt.

Ms Dixon, who lives in Bromley, south-east London, is now recovering in hospital.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are in touch with the local authorities in Angra dos Reis, Brazil, following reports of the shooting of a British national.”

Police are still searching for the gunmen.

Local police chief Bruno Gilaberte said: “This whole confusion seems to have happened partly because of the language barrier.

“They ended up driving towards the Água Santa community where they were challenged by criminals. Because they didn’t understand the order they received to leave the area, they just carried on and were shot at.”