The Brazilian ambassador to the UK has apologized to the household of Dom Phillips for incorrectly telling them that his physique had been discovered within the Amazon together with that of his lacking journey companion Bruno Pereira.

On Monday morning, an embassy official referred to as Phillips’ brother-in-law and sister to tell them that the our bodies of the British journalist and the Brazilian indigenous professional had been discovered tied to a tree, per week after the 2 disappeared within the river. Itaquaí.

Nonetheless, this data was later denied by federal police, whose forensic science groups have been analyzing an space the place indigenous volunteer searchers discovered gadgets belonging to the 2 lacking males on Saturday afternoon.

On Tuesday, the ambassador, Fred Arruda, wrote to the Phillips household to retract the embassy assertion.

“We deeply remorse that the embassy transmitted data to the household yesterday that was not appropriate,” Arruda mentioned.

The Brazilian diplomat claimed {that a} multi-agency staff arrange on the London embassy to reply to the disappearances had been “misled” by data it had acquired from “investigating officers”.

“Desirous about it, there was haste on the a part of the multi-institutional staff, for which I sincerely apologize,” added Arruda, who insisted that “the search operation will proceed, sparing no effort.”

“Our ideas stay with Dom, Bruno, you and the opposite members of each households,” the ambassador mentioned.

Phillips and Pereira disappeared on the morning of June 5 whereas getting back from a four-day reporting journey within the Javari area of the Amazon.

Thus far, an indigenous-led search operation has situated a lot of gadgets belonging to the 2 males, in an space of ​​flooded forest close to the place they’re suspected to have been ambushed within the river.

Nonetheless, opposite to data the embassy handed on to Phillips’ household, the lads haven’t but been discovered.

The disappearances have highlighted the rising deforestation of the Amazon and the dismantling of Brazil’s indigenous and environmental safety companies which have developed underneath far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

Phillips, a longtime Guardian contributor, had been to the area to chronicle the combat for the way forward for the world’s largest rainforest and was writing a e book on the topic, referred to as Saving the Amazon.