Five people have been arrested in Tanzania following the fatal shooting of a British helicopter pilot who was flying an anti-poaching mission.

The Friedkin Conservation Fund said that more arrests were expected following the killing of Roger Gower, who was flying on a joint operation with Tanzanian wildlife authorities in the Maswa game reserve, near Serengeti national park, on 29 January.



His helicopter crashed after being hit by rounds from an AK-47 rifle fired from the ground.

The Texas-based Friedkin group, which oversees conservation projects in Tanzania, said the detainees included a suspected gunman and accomplices, as well as members of a network providing illegal weapons and smuggling ivory.

Gower, 37, and a safari guide, Nicky Bester, were flying close to the ground searching for gunmen who had killed three elephants in the Maswa reserve when the gang started shooting at the helicopter.

A bullet is understood to have passed through the floor of the helicopter, hitting Gower first in the leg then in the shoulder before exiting through the roof.

Despite being shot, Gower was able to fly the helicopter down into a tree, allowing Bester to jump to safety and hide from the poachers in a thicket, wildlife authorities said.

Gower grew up in Birmingham and trained as an accountant in London before becoming a helicopter pilot in 2004. He had been flying from neighbouring Kenya, working for safaris and excursions, before moving to Tanzania last October to join a tour operator called Legendary Expeditions.

Gower’s brother Max told the Evening Standard: “He had found something he was really good at and took a lot of pride in that. He ferried British soldiers around, he helped presenter Simon Reeve make wildlife documentaries and he flew tourists, including Bill Gates and Jessica Biel.”



Almost £50,000 has been raised on a JustGiving page set up by Max and John Gower to help anti-poaching efforts in Tanzania and ensure that “some good should come out of Roger’s tragic death”.



They wrote: “Those who knew [Roger] will remember his idiosyncrasies but also his principles and his infectious love of having fun. He will be sorely missed by all.”