Spanish pilot and guard killed as woman is wounded at Victoria FallsBy MICHAEL CHAWE in Lusaka | Wednesday, April 18  2012 at  17:43

Unidentified gunmen Tuesday shot dead a Spanish pilot and a security guard and left a French woman wounded in Zambia’s tourism capital Livingstone, local media reported Wednesday.

Livingstone, which is approximately 500km south of the capital Lusaka, hosts the world-famous Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River.

The three gunmen stormed a lodge in a vehicle and got away with K4 million ($1,000) cash from the scene.

Mr Sergio Valle, 48, was a Spaniard working as an expatriate pilot for Batoka Sky and a security guard identified as, Mr Jacob Chirwa, 30, were shot dead at point-blank range and died on the spot, reported the state-owned Times of Zambia.

The French woman, Ms Marie Noelle Carre, was seriously wounded in the shooting and was rushed to a Lusaka hospital, the newspaper reported.

Southern Province Commissioner of Police Brenda Muntemba confirmed the shooting on unsuspecting patrons.

The gunmen, who fled soon after the incident, ordered the patrons to lie flat facing down during the confusion.

The shooting

Police said they were investigating the matter.

Mrs Lynne Silawa, co-owner of a local lodge called Zig Zag, was quoted saying her husband Vasco had managed to warn tourists who were in the area during the shooting to run away.

Mrs Silawa said Livingstone was a peaceful place, but was worried that with the shooting, it would be difficult to attract tourists and other guests.

Livingstone Tourism Association (LTA) chairperson Kingsley Lilamono said it was unfortunate that such an incident occurred when stakeholders were engaging the police to beef up security ahead of the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly next year.

Zambia Home Affairs Minister Kennedy Sakeni has since directed police to put appropriate security measures for local and international visitors in the tourist capital.

“The criminal act of shooting at and killing innocent people cannot, in any way, be justified and this government through its law enforcement agencies will ensure the culprits are traced and brought to justice,” Mr Sakeni told journalists late Tuesday.