Seven arrested over murder of champion yachtsman

Brazilian police arrested seven men who are said to have confessed to the murder of Sir Peter Blake, the sailing champion who was shot dead by pirates in the Amazon.

A federal police agent said the seven admitted boarding Sir Peter's yacht at its anchorage in the mouth of the Amazon near Macapa on Wednesday night, intending to rob it, and fatally shot him when he tried to resist. "The suspects claimed they fired in self-defence," said Jose Araujo. "They said they didn't know anyone famous was aboard and they weren't expecting any resistance."

One of the men, Ricardo Colares, allegedly confessed to firing the fatal shots but said he only shot back after Sir Peter opened fire with a rifle. Police were still investigating the sequence of events but said it appeared Sir Peter or one of his crew had wounded one of the assailants in the melee.

"They were probably attracted by the boat's shiny appearance. They saw it was a rare boat, owned by a foreigner, so they figured there was money aboard and lots of expensive equipment," Araujo said.

Six of the suspects were from the Macapa area and one was from the neighbouring state of Para, he said. Police were led to the suspects after questioning a man with a gunshot wound to the hand who confessed to taking part in the killing and incriminated the other suspects.

They were still searching for an eighth man, 20-year-old Rubens da Silva Souza, who allegedly ferried the assailants to Sir Peter's boat. Araujo said all seven suspects had been charged with the killing. At the time of the murder, four of the men charged were free on bail, awaiting trial on charges related to other boat robberies, he said.

Sir Peter, 53, who led New Zealand to America's Cup victories in 1995 and 2000 and lived in Hampshire, was on a worldwide expedition to monitor global warming and pollution. Two crew members who were slightly injured have been released from hospital.

The attackers took a spare engine and several watches from the 119ft (36-metre) Seamaster.

Brazil's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "the government deeply regrets the tragic death of New Zealand's renowned explorer, yachtsman and scientist".