The female park ranger who tried to save two British tourists from being kidnapped before being blasted to death has been named as Rachel Katumwa.

The 25-year-old was a so-called ‘ecoguard’ providing security on a convoy travelling through the Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Friday morning.

She became the first female ranger in the bloody history of the park to be murdered by bandits.

Today Congolese soldiers and park rangers launched an operation to find the two tourists - who are yet to be identified.

Fellow park rangers confirmed that Rachel was ‘a devoted conservationist who died in the line of duty’.

Anna Friel visits Africa's oldest national park in 2013

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One added: "Her only thought would have been the safety and security of visitors to the park who were on the convoy.

"Unfortunately armed robbers attacked as the convoy approached Rumangabo. Following the ecoguard’s death, two British citizens were taken away, along with their driver."

Major Guillaume Kaiko Ndjike said: "With Virunga National Park being within our zone of action, we have joined the park rangers for search operations for the people taken hostages."

The kidnappers have reportedly demanded $200,000.

It is thought that the attack was carried out by the MaiMai militia – a group with its roots in the war between the Congo and Rwandan forces.

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The kidnapped happened just a few hundred yards from an Army base, where soldiers from the 802 Regiment was stationed.

Despite this there has already been criticism of the slow response time by the troops.

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Local politician Zubaya Faustin said: "More should have been done to support the park guards."

Some 175 Virunga guards have been killed over the past decade, making their job one of the most dangerous in the country.

People travel from all across the globe to see Virunga's population of mountain gorillas but tourism has suffered badly in recent years as militant groups and criminal gangs continue to fund a long-running war by pillaging the park's resources.

The MainMai have been robbing tourists, while concentrating on western visitors because of the high ransom demands they can potentially make.

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(Image: Facebook)

In April five rangers from Virunga and a driver were killed following an ambush in the park, while a sixth ranger was severely wounded.

Eastern Congo has been the scene of successive waves of violence over the past two and a half decades and was at the epicentre of two wars between 1996 and 2003 that killed millions, mainly through hunger and disease

A UK Foreign Office statement says: ‘We are in close contact with the authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo following an incident involving two British nationals, and our staff are providing support to their families."