Image copyright AFP Image caption The bodies were found at Vermelha beach, next to the Sugar Loaf mountain

Rescue teams in Brazil have retrieved the bodies of seven people from coastal rocks and the forest at the foot of Rio de Janeiro's Sugar Loaf mountain.

Police believe the bodies are of criminals who took part in shootouts that brought panic to residents on Friday and Saturday.

The incidents took place in the Urca neighbourhood, considered one of the safest and most exclusive in Rio.

The Sugar Loaf cable car services had to be suspended for two hours.

The unprecedented move left more than 100 tourists trapped at the top of the mountain for two hours, while police exchanged fire with suspected drug traffickers on nearby mountains.

Brazil country profile

Rio residents have become used to daily incidents of violence, including shootouts on its more than 800 shantytowns or favelas.

But this is the first such incident in the Urca area of Rio, an upmarket peninsula where two prestigious military academies and an army barracks are based.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Rio military police show weapons seized during operation in the neighbouring Babilonia favela

Police say the gangs involved in the shootouts have been fighting for weeks for control of drug trafficking selling points on the neighbouring Babilônia favela.

A man was arrested in the operation, several weapons were seized and a policeman was injured by shrapnel from a hand grenade.

Relatives have accused the police of murdering the seven young people after they gave themselves up.

Violence has been on the rise across Brazil for the past two or three years.

The country is going through one of the most enduring economic and political crises in its history.

The state of Rio de Janeiro has been particularly affected by the crisis, after a sharp drop in crucial oil revenues and a major corruption scandal.

Earlier this year, President Michel Temer deployed the armed forces in Rio to try to curb violence by criminal gangs.

Critics say the measure has had little impact and that violence is still out of control in Rio and other major Brazilian cities.</s>Six bodies were found Sunday on the seashore near Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Sugarloaf Mountain and cable-car ride, the fire department said.

“They were stuck in the rocks, on the shore,” a spokesman said.

Police were investigating the grisly discovery and did not say how the deaths occurred.

However, the inaccessible area near the dramatic cliffs of the Sugarloaf was the scene of fierce clashes Friday between drug gangsters and Rio police.

Shooting was so intense at one stage that the cable car running to the top of the Sugarloaf had to be shut down.

Police said they clashed with gangs in the poverty-stricken favelas on the hills overlooking Leme, a posh area at the end of Copacabana beach.

After the armed gang members fled into the woods, they apparently went toward the Sugarloaf shore area, where they were hunted by police in helicopters and on jet skis.

Six rifles said to have belonged to the gang members were seized and shown to the media.

Nearly two years after hosting the Olympics, Rio de Janeiro is experiencing a surge in violence.

At the end of February, President Michel Temer put the army in charge of the police, though no real reduction in insecurity has resulted.</s>At least seven people are dead after violence erupted in one of Rio de Janeiro's safest neighborhoods over the weekend, trapping tourists on the famous Sugarloaf mountain.</s>Rio de Janeiro: A cable car service which runs to Rio de Janeiro´s Sugarloaf Mountain, one of Brazil´s most famous tourist attractions, was suspended Friday after a nearby shootout that wounded a policeman.

"The Sugarloaf cable car service is temporarily suspended due to a police operation," the firm that runs the service told AFP.

Military police in Rio confirmed in a statement that an operation began Friday morning in favelas in the hilly areas of Leme district, a popular tourist area in the city´s south, where a number of shootings have occurred in recent days near the famed Copacabana beach.

The police operations, which are becoming increasingly frequent in Rio, are aimed at destroying the grip of drug gangs.

The other side of the hills looks out on the Urca district, where the Sugarloaf cable car begins its 396 meter (yard) climb to the top, offering a stunning panoramic of the "Marvelous City."

"At around 1:00pm (1600 GMT), police came across a group of armed men and a shootout ensued in the forest. A policeman was lightly wounded by grenade shrapnel," police said, adding that an operation was ongoing.

By late afternoon, a helicopter was flying over the area and the police were searching on jet skis for the suspects at sea, an AFP photographer said.

Nearly two years after hosting the Olympics, Rio de Janeiro is experiencing a surge in violence.

At the end of February, President Michel Temer entrusted the army with the city´s security, though the policy has not resulted in any real reduction in insecurity.</s>SAO PAULO (AP) - Rising homicide rates are damaging Brazil's economy and leading to skyrocketing public security costs, according to a study released Monday.

Beyond the emotional toll on families and communities, homicides between 1996 and 2015 robbed the country of more than US$119 billion in potential productive capacity, according to a joint study authored by Rio de Janeiro-based think tank Igarape and the Brazilian government. Over that period, both public and private security costs tripled.

The overall costs of criminality in Brazil, Latin America's most populous nation, are equivalent to about 4 percent of gross domestic product, according to the study.

FILE - In this March 31, 2017 file photo, the body of a teenage boy lies on the sidewalk, only a few kilometers from the school where a 13-year-old girl was killed by a stray bullet a day earlier during a shootout between police and alleged drug traffickers, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rising homicide rates in Latin America's biggest nation are having a negative impact on its production capacity and leading to skyrocketing public security costs, according to a report authored by Rio de Janeiro think tank Igarape and the Brazilian government that was released Monday, June 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)

"It paints a very disturbing picture," said Rob Muggah, Igarape's research director, adding that the report used conservative baselines and thus the actual toll may be much higher.

Brazil is preparing for presidential elections in October and public security is a top issue for voters. A military intervention in Rio has sparked debate on how best to confront increasing violence.

The report reviewed government data on local, state and federal security expenditures, along with figures on workers in private security, incarceration costs and average productivity of workers of all ages.

In brute numbers, Brazil has long had more homicides each year than any other nation. The country's murder rate puts it on a par with countries like the Dominican Republic, Rwanda, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to Igarape.

Between 1996 and 2015, the average number of homicides jumped from 35,000 to more than 54,000 each year. That represents a 54 percent increase in murders while the population was growing by 40 percent.</s>Teresopolis, Brazil – Brazil’s national soccer team came together Monday in this town 91 km (56 mi) from Rio de Janeiro to prepare for next month’s World Cup in Russia.

Brazil, pursuing a sixth World Cup title, will have almost a month to train for the tournament, since its debut will be on June 17 against Switzerland in Rostov.

Marquinhos, a player with Paris Saint-Germain, was the first member of the final 23-man roster to report to the Granja Comary training center in Teresopolis.

Arriving after Marquinhos at the Granja Comary heliport were Atletico Madrid’s Filipe Luis and Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fred.

Sixteen of those called by coach Tite had already arrived before noon, including PSG’s Neymar and Gabriel Jesus of Manchester City.

Real Madrid’s Marcelo and Casemiro, along with Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino, will not join the national squad until after Saturday’s Champions League final between the Spanish and English clubs.

After a week of training in Teresopolis, the squad will travel next Sunday to London, where the players will continue training for another 12 days before traveling to Vienna, where they will challenge Austria on June 10 in a friendly.

Brazil will have another friendly on June 3 against Croatia.

From Vienna, Brazil will head for the Russian city of Sochi, where the teams will remain during the first phase of the World Cup.

For team captain and striker Neymar, this week will mark his return to the pitch after an absence of nearly three months due to a foot injury that required surgery.

The list of players assembled by Tite includes the basis of the team that came through the South American qualifiers undefeated.
Seven bodies are recovered from the base of Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.