Journalist Dom Philips (57), who writes regularly for the British newspaper The Guardian, and Bruno Araujo Pereira (41), a specialist in the field of indigenous peoples, are on an expedition in the remote Javari valley for a book.
They had been threatened in the week before their disappearance, two local organizations reported. A search is underway, including a helicopter. The government says it is “very concerned” and assured that the police are doing everything they can to find them as soon as possible.
The Javari Valley in the west of the Amazon region, near the border with Peru, is very difficult to access. Several totally isolated tribes live there. Armed violence is increasing in the region due to the presence of miners, prospectors and poachers.