Police inspect the remains of one of their crime-fighting helicopters lying in a soccer field after it was shot down when trying to intervene in a battle between two opposing drug gangs, in a Rio de Janeiro slum October 17, 2009. A police helicopter was shot down here on Saturday during a drug traffickers shoot-out, which claimed two police officers and 10 suspected gangsters, said the police.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    RIO DE JANERIO, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- A police helicopter was shot down here on Saturday during a drug traffickers shoot-out, which claimed two police officers and 10 suspected gangsters, said the police.

    The helicopter was perforated by a bullet which ended up in the pilot's leg while flying over the "Hill of Monkeys", a slum in the northern part of the city, where police took on a gun battle between rival gangs over territory, said Major Oderlei Santos from the military police.

    The chopper burst into flames after being landed on a football pitch. Two police officers died and four other crew members were wounded including the pilot, one of them burned seriously, Duarte said.

    Ten suspected traffickers were killed while those gangsters shooting in the slum. Eight buses were set on fire in slums in northern zone by suspected drug traffickers to distract the police forces, said Jose Beltrame, Rio's state security secretary.

An armored police vehicle sits near two public buses set on fire by drug gangs trying to distract the police from their battle for the control of a slum, in Rio de Janeiro October 17, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Globo TV, a Brazilian TV station, broadcast the images of the crashed chopper and burning buses, quoting some witnesses as saying that around 15 armed and masked men drove off those passengers before they set the buses on fire.

    At a press conference, the commander-general of the Rio's military police reaffirmed his efforts in responding to criminal acts such as this.

    According to the police, the situation was now under control and an additional 3,500 troops had been mobilized to reinforce the security in the area. Images of people back into the streets in the affected areas began to appear on television.

A person observes two public buses set on fire by drug gangs trying to distract the police from their battle for the control of a slum, in Rio de Janeiro October 17, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Helicopters are a frequent vehicle for the police to deal with all kinds of situations concerning drug trafficking which spreads across more than 1,000 slums in the city.

    Santos said it was the first time that a police helicopter had been shot down.