These Norwegians are lucky they made it out alive. Years ago I hired a driver (a taxi, but not a marked taxi) to drive me up to Corcovado to see the beautiful "Christ the Redeemer" by Paul Landowski, who also did the lovely Sainte Geneviève along the Seine in Paris. On the drive up some of the roads were blocked by chains though kids would unlock the chains and wave drivers in. The driver just grumbled and I had the distinct impression it was a scam of some sorts based on stories from friends who used to live in Rio. Rio is not a town where you can afford to make a wrong turn.
Three Norwegian tourists came under fire and one was shot after the satellite navigation system in their car guided them straight into one of Rio de Janeiro's most dangerous slums.Uncles here in France recently set their GPS to meet at a family house down south and were doing fairly well until they reached the general vicinity of the village. There are no cars in the village (only walking paths which are listed as streets) though there are streets, so the closest the GPS could do was to direct them to the cemetery above the village which is sort of close but not the ideal area for accessing the village. Since it's on a steep hill, to actually drive to the parking on the edge of town they had to wind around for a few kilometers and use - gasp! - traditional maps. There's nothing quite like new technology even when it's not so new.
The three men cut short their vacation in Brazil and headed home Monday after Trygve Killingtveit, 24, was shot in the shoulder by suspected drug traffickers from one of the gangs that control hundreds of shantytowns in Rio.
The tourists were returning from the beach resort of Buzios about three hours north of Rio Saturday when they got lost, Brazil's Globo TV and several newspapers reported.
They reportedly told police their Global Positioning System (GPS) system recommended they turn off a main highway as the quickest route back to the airport to drop off the rental car. But the suggested route took them deep into the Mare slum complex, where their rented car quickly came under fire.
