German tourist fatally stabbed in Rio

Revellers perform during the second day of the carnival parade in the Sambodrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Feb 17, 2015. A German tourist died from stab wounds after resisting assailants who tried to rob him as the Rio carnival wound down, police
Revellers perform during the second day of the carnival parade in the Sambodrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Feb 17, 2015. A German tourist died from stab wounds after resisting assailants who tried to rob him as the Rio carnival wound down, police told AFP Wednesday. -- PHOTO: AFP 

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - A German tourist died from stab wounds after resisting assailants who tried to rob him as the Rio carnival wound down, police told AFP Wednesday.

The 51-year-old, named as Fred Nietenf, died in the early hours of Tuesday in central Rio, as carnival entered its final day.

"An investigation is under way to determine who was behind the homicide of Fred Nietenf," police said.

Police added they had interviewed the victim's wife, also reported hurt in the incident and whom web news portal G1 named as Sybelle Jurth, 52.

Sunday saw a Dutch tourist, 60-year-old Ronald Francois Wollbeek shot dead on his sailboat at Sao Luis do Maranhao in the north-east of the country after an altercation with three men at his mooring point.

The five-day carnival saw sporadic deadly violence, including when a man was fatally stabbed in the southeastern city of Sao Paulo and another killed in a shooting which injured nine others in the colonial city of Paraty west of Rio.

The festivities turned deadly again early Tuesday, when three men were electrocuted after a carnival float ran into a power line in the southeastern Brazilian city of Nova Iguacu, local media reported.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.