The most dangerous wonder of the world
<p>Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue is quickly becoming the most dangerous wonder of the world.</p>
<p>Last Friday, the 4km Corcovado jungle trail to the giant statue was closed the day after a Polish man was stabbed.</p>
<p>The Polish tourist was one of 58 people to have been robbed along the trail in 10 days. Throughout this year alone, more than 150 people have been robbed at the attraction.</p>
<p>Young and armed criminals from nearby slums have been coming from the mountainside and then pouncing on unsuspecting tourists before disappearing back to their villages.</p>
<p>Five men ranging between the ages of 18 and 29 have been arrested and charged over the stabbing.</p>
<p>Locals are so concerned they’ve stuck signs on trees and poles warning in English and Portuguese, “Be cautious. Do not risk your life.”</p>
<p>21-year-old Dutch student Renate Trinks told news.com.au how her and her two friends encountered three young Brazilian men waiting for them at the end of the hike.</p>
<p>“When we were closer they showed us their knives and told us to sit down and give them all our stuff,” Renate said.</p>
<p>“While we were handing over our belongings more tourists were coming and they robbed everyone.”</p>
<p>“Some people had a lot of cash on them, and expensive cameras – [the robbers] had two backpacks full of stuff.”</p>
<p>Half an hour passed before the gang walked everyone 200m back down the pathway before they disappeared back into the trees.</p>
<p>“They said there was a guy waiting for us with a gun, but we never saw this guy. So I think it was just to scare us,” Renate said.</p>
<p>“At the beginning when I saw their knives I was a little scared but the robbery itself was not too scary, they were pretty calm. They gave back passports and credit cards.”</p>
<p>“I had read online that the hike was pretty dangerous and I already had a bad feeling about it so I didn’t bring my watch and rings. I decided to bring my phone to take pictures.”</p>
<p>Brazil’s unemployment rate has tripled to over 13 per cent and its first female president Dilma Rousseff was fired by parliament shortly after the conclusion of the Olympics.</p>
<p>Over 480,000 Brazilian tourists and students arrived in Australia last year, an increase of 181 per cent from a decade ago.</p>
<p>The Brazilian Community Council of Australia estimates there are around 60,000 Brazilians living in the country.</p>
<p>This year, there have been 85 police officers killed in Rio and civilians are injured and killed by stray bullets from battles between police and gangs.</p>
<p>The head of Rio’s tourist police department (DEAT) Valéria Aragão has announced the closure of the trail inside Tijuca National Park until sufficient police resources are put there.</p>
<p>“Patrolling in the region will never be efficient because human resources in the security forces are overwhelmingly under-resourced,” she told reporters.</p>
<p>Christ the Redeemer, which receives on average 5,500 visitors per day, is still accessible by train, van and taxi. </p>
