European guest held hostage as luxury hotel is stormed

On 21 August 2010 heavily-armed assailants stormed the luxury InterContinental Hotel in Rio de Janeiro's upscale Sao Conrado district, taking 35 individuals hostage after fleeing a shootout with police officers. The incident occurred at approximately 0830 local time (1130 UTC), when officers attempted to stop a convoy of suspected drug traffickers traveling from the Morro do Vidigal slum to Rocinha, the largest favela complex in Rio. During the conflict that followed, 10 of the gunmen fled to the hotel, where they took 30 staff members and five European hotel guests hostage. A tense standoff lasted for approximately three hours, until police officials were able to negotiate the surrender of the gunmen and the release of all hostages. One suspected drug trafficker died in the incident, while at least seven people -- including four police officers -- suffered injuries. There were no hotel guests among the casualties. Severe traffic disruptions continued for several hours after the conclusion of the incident as authorities searched the hotel and the surrounding area for additional suspects. Nine suspected drug traffickers have been arrested.