Brazil: Pele Calls to 'Intensify' Search for Missing British Journalist, Brazilian Expert in Amazon

Pele has joined the call for authorities to ramp up their search for a British journalist and Brazilian Indigenous advocate missing in the Amazon rainforest.

The Guardian reported that the 81-year-old three-time World Cup winner retweeted a video made by Philip's wife calling for more urgency in the search for her journalist husband, Dom Phillips, and advocate Bruno Araújo Pereira.

Pele tweeted that the "fight for the preservation of the Amazon forest," as well as Indigenous groups, belong to all of us.

The former Santos legend said that he was moved by the disappearance of Phillips and Pereira, who are dedicating their lives to the cause.

Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira Missing in Brazil

Phillips and Pereira have been missing for over 30 hours, according to the Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations.

CNN news reported that Pereira was a staffer on leave from the Brazilian Indigenous National Foundation. He was missing in Brazil's remote Javari Valley, in the far western part of Amazona state, with the veteran British journalist.

An organization known as UNIVAJA noted that satellite information showed the pair's last known location in the Sao Rafael community early Sunday. They were expected to meet with a local leader who never showed up.

The missing pair had planned to take a two-hour trip to Atalaia do Norte but never arrived, according to the same organization.

The Javari Valley is a patchwork of rivers and dense forest that makes access very difficult. It is also home to thousands of Indigenous people and about 16 uncontacted groups.

Amazon state governor Wilson Lima has ordered the deployment of specialized police reinforcements to amplify search and rescue operations.

UNIVAJA noted in a press release that Phillips and Pereira had received death threats before their disappearance.

Brazil's Response

Brazil's federal public prosecutors noted in a statement on Monday that they have opened an investigation and that the Federal Police, the national guard, and Navy had been mobilized, according to a CBS News report.

Prosecutors said the Navy is coordinating the search. It sent a search-and-rescue team of seven and would deploy a helicopter on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the army's Amazon division said that it had received orders to deploy a search mission.

President Jair Bolsonaro said in a statement that two people in a boat in a completely wild region is not a "recommended adventure." He added that anything could happen.

Bolsonaro said in an interview with television network SBT that they hope and ask God that the two be found soon.

Alessandra Sampaio, Phillips' wife, said that she can only pray that her husband and Pereira are well.

Maria Laura Canineau, the director of Human Rights Watch in Brazil, said in a statement that is largely significant that Brazilian authorities come up with all available and necessary resources for the immediate realization of searches.

The veteran journalist has also contributed to the Washington Post and New York Times. He resides in Salvador, a city in Brazil's Bahia state.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous Expert Bruno Pereira Missing in Brazil - from Democracy Now!