7 December 2001

Greenpeace mourns the death of Sir Peter Blake

Sir Peter Blake was shot and killed by armed intruders who boarded the Blakexpeditions vessel Seamaster, anchored off Macapa at the mouth of the Amazon river late Thursday night.

Greenpeace Executive Director Margaret Crozier from New Zealand, Blake's home country, expressed her deep shock and sorrow at the death of United Nations environmental ambassador.

Seamaster was awaiting customs clearance to depart Brazilian waters after a two month expedition exploring the Amazon and the Rio Negro as part of the "blakexpeditions" programme to monitor the affects of climate change and pollution on the most environmentally sensitive regions of the world.

The group of seven or eight armed and hooded intruders boarded Seamaster at approximately 10:15pm local time.

Blake was fatally shot and two other members of Seamaster's crew were injured, one with a gunshot wound across the back, the other with a blow to the face. Both injured men are back aboard Seamaster after receiving hospital treatment. The other seven Seamaster crew were badly shaken but unharmed.

"The death of Sir Peter is a tragedy and his loss will be keenly felt both by his family and friends and the New Zealand public who admired the sincerity of his convictions and his strength of purpose," said Crozier.

Peter Blake on the bridge of the Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise
after the two vessels met up in the Amazon in October.

In his latest role as Special Envoy for the United Nations Environment Programme, Blake made it his personal mission to speak out against the human impact on our fragile Planet.

He drew attention to climate change affecting ecosystems around the globe in the Arctic, Antarctic and the Amazon.

His death will sadly be added to the hundreds of others who have been murdered in the struggle to protect the forests of the Amazon from total devastation.

"The situation in the Amazon is out of control and the Brazilian government must act to end the escalating violence and ensure the rule of law.

"Local people have been killed speaking out against the illegal logging which is responsible for 80 percent of the timber industry in Brazil.

"Greenpeace campaigners in the region have received death threats as recently as last month. International pressure is needed to ensure that the Brazilian government acts to ensure security and protect civil rights," said Crozier.

Blake apparently died instantly despite desperate resuscitation efforts by members of the Seamaster crew. He is survived by his wife, Lady Pippa Blake, and their two children, Sarah-Jane and James.

For more information about Peter Blake and the Blakexpeditions, visit their web site at http://www.blakexpeditions.com