Briton shot during oil tanker robbery

A British woman has been shot in a gun battle on an oil tanker berthed in Brazil.

The woman, who was the ship's second officer, is being treated in hospital but her injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Four armed robbers disguised as watchmen boarded the Shell tanker, the Sigelia, at its berth in Porto de Santos, on Friday.

They threatened the unarmed deck watchkeepers and a security guard with their guns and demanded money and gold they believed to be onboard.

But failing to find any they stole personal possessions from the second officer's cabin.

As they were trying to leave the tanker they were ambushed by armed police who had been tipped off about the raid.

In the ensuing gun battle, one of the robbers was shot dead and the woman officer was injured. The three other raiders escaped.

The injured woman's husband, a crew member on another Shell tanker, was being flown to Brazil to be at her bedside.