Dover Coastguard saves British tourists stuck in a ravine in BRAZIL

Stock photo, Amazon, Brazil: PA

British tourists whose camper van got stuck in a ravine in Brazil were rescued after their relatives rang the Dover Coastguard.

Bruce Scott and Lesley Norris, who are in their early 60s and have been travelling in South America for four years, got into trouble in a remote part of the Amazon rainforest when a bridg collapsed and their Mercedes Unimog motorhome dropped 30ft into a ravine.

Miss Norris' sister Jenny said the pair managed to get out of the vehicle and set up camp at the side of the road for a night, adding that they just 'feel lucky to be alive'.

Bruce took down their GPS co-ordinates and promptly called a relative at home who, in turn, contacted the Dover Coastguard, who then forwarded the details to the international liaison station for the UK, the Falmouth Coastguard.

Staff at Falmouth then contacted relevant authorities in Brazil, who sent a helicopter team to rescue the pair 200 miles south west of the city of Manaus.

Fred Caygill, of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), told The Sun it was not the first time they've 'assisted people across the world', but admitted the incident was unusual as it was not a maritime emergency.

He added:'But there are no boundaries in search and rescue.'