Brazilian Authorities Recover 26 Bodies Of Diamond Prospectors

Brazilian authorities have recovered the bodies of 26 illegal diamond prospectors found in the Amazon region. The prospectors were killed by Native Indians in violent clashes.

Three other bodies were found last week after reports of a bloody attack on the miners by local Indians.

Authorities last week said that up to 35 prospectors were killed in the clash and sent a federal task force to the region in an attempt to resolve the situation.

Heavily armed prospectors last week entered the Roosevelt Indian reservation in Rondonia state, more than 2,100 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro, last week in a bid to recover the bodies of prospectors killed in a fight with Cinta Larga Indians on April 7.

Tensions between prospectors and Indians have flared repeatedly in recent years as illegal diggers have searched for diamonds and other gemstones.

Brazilian law forbids mining on Indian reservations, but several native Indian chiefs are said to have become rich charging prospectors for access to reservations which are believed to contain South America's largest diamond reserves.