How dozens of Westerners are killed every year in the Amazon as more and more Brits take up cheap package deals
Every year dozens of travellers to South America never come home, having been killed in botched kidnappings, tragic accidents, drug overdoses and more.
EVERY year scores of Brits spend thousands of pounds and board planes to visit one of the world's last great untamed wildernesses - the Amazon jungle.
But dozens of these travellers never come home, having been killed in botched kidnappings, tragic accidents, drug overdoses and more.
Just yesterday horrific footage emerged of Canadian traveller Sebastian Woodroffe begging for his life before killed by a lynch mob in Peru on Thursday.
Many locals claimed the 41-year-old had killed a local Ayahuasca shaman earlier in the day, though no arrests have yet been made regarding either death.
In 2014, Brit Henry Miller died after taking part in a Ayahuasca hallucinogenic ceremony.
Hours after the ceremony, his body was found dumped on the side of a dirt track. Cops said panicking locals left him there after he had a reaction to the drug and died on the way to hospital.
These drug ceremonies have now become so popular among Westerners that retreats are offered as package deals for as little as £500.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office warns Brits travelling to Peru to be wary of gunpoint robbery, drug-related crime and terrorism.
It also warns of Ayahuasca: "Consumption of this brew is not regulated and its interaction with existing medical conditions isn’t well understood. People have suffered serious illnesses and in some cases death after participating in these ceremonies.
"Spiritual cleansing retreats are usually some distance from populated areas making it difficult to access medical attention for those who need it."
In 2016, Londoner Unais Gomes was stabbed to death by a fellow traveller reported to be having a "bad trip" during one of the ceremonies.
Unais, 26, was stabbed by Canadian Joshua Stevens, 29, after drinking the mind-bending concoction.
Travel expert Frank Brehany told The Sun Online: "If you are looking for adventure, you're going to find it in the Americas.
"These kinds of new age cleansing of the spirits, and cleansing of the mind, are something that people are looking out for but need to be aware of the risks it involves.
"It can have dire consequences, you're talking about death or psychosis. Talk to your GP, he will advise you, he or she will know."
Like Henry Miller, Kiwi Matthew Dawson-Clarke died after taking part in an Ayahuasca ceremony in Peru in 2015.
While the shaman who organised the ceremony claimed his death was his "destiny", his mum Lyndie told media: "I'm not here to tell people what to do with their lives.
"I'm just here to say 'be aware'."
However, traditional jungle drugs are not the only dangers travellers must be wary of.
In September last year, British adventurer Emma Kelty, 42, was robbed and murdered by river pirates while canoeing alone through a remote part of the Amazon River.
The 43-year-old had been 42 days into her 4,000-mile trip along the Amazon River when she was robbed and shot.
Cops later revealed her alleged attackers killed her for her two mobile phones, cash, GoPro camera and drone.
The region - notorious for its drug trafficking routes - has also been plagued by kidnappings.
In 2012, Kathryn Sara Cox, from Surrey, was kidnapped alongside Australian pal Fiona Wilde while canoeing in a remote nature reserve in Educador close to the border with Colombia.
The pair were dragged from the river deep into the jungle where they were robbed of their possessions.
It was only when their kidnappers realised a 100-strong force of local cops and soldiers were closing in did they let the pair go.
Fiona later told Sky News: "We were very scared, but we could often hear the helicopters above us and that was very comforting while we were in the jungle.
"When the helicopters got right above us the kidnappers made us hide in the bushes and the kidnappers got scared.
"They were, we think, close to maybe killing us. And then for some reason they changed their mind and told us to run and we ran out, towards the helicopters."
Frank recommends that all travellers read FCO travel advisories.
He said: "They should head not just for summary, but they should get into the areas of crime and security.
"They say very, very, clearly what the risks are in terms of your exposure to things such as pickpocketing, kidnapping, to being set up as a drug mule to rape and sexual assaults and particularly around border areas and cultural problems to areas where there's fighting between groups."
In August last year, Brit mum-of-two Eloise Dixon was shot in front of her family after accidentally driving into a crime-ridden slum in Brazil.
The 46-year-old from Kent was hit twice in the abdomen, but survived after being rushed to hospital.
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Travel security expert Craig Bidios, a former member of UN peacekeeping service in Iraq, told The Sun Online: ";Travel to South America in some parts may be challenging due to crime and environmental factors.
"Keep in touch with family and friends on social media - let people know where you are heading to and how great it was, and keep an eye on local online newspapers to see what the current events are in that city you may be heading to.
"Another tip is to take copies of your important documents like passports and visa, and then scan and send them to your email for fast retrieval if the original is stolen."
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