Hero British firefighter, 28, died saving his brother from holiday robbers

London firefighter fatally shot by gang at guest house

Brother, 21, stabbed but recovering



Tributes from chief of Fire Brigade



A British fireman died protecting his brother as they fought off armed robbers during a holiday in Venezuela.

Tom Ossel, 28, was shot in the armpit after four men and three women burst into the hotel where he was staying with Jack, 21.

The gang had taken several other guests hostage before attacking the brothers. As the pair tried to resist them by throwing furniture, Mr Ossel was fatally injured and bled to death in just minutes .

Tragedy: Thomas Ossel, who was fatally shot, left, pictured with his brother Jack on a Myspace profile

His brother was stabbed and received treatment at hospital for minor injuries. The gunmen only fled when their semi-automatic weapon jammed, it was claimed. A friend the brothers were travelling with, Owen Pearce, 21, was uninjured.

Paul Wynne, 30, a close friend of Mr Ossel, said the victim would have put himself in danger to prevent others coming to harm.

‘Tom was very protective of his friends and especially his brother,’ he said.

The raid happened a day after the men arrived on the paradise island of Isla Margarita, in the Caribbean Sea.



Keen traveller: Mr Ossel describes his love of travel on his MySpace page, which also features images of him on holiday

Peter Eggersdorfer, owner of the Posada Casa Rosa hotel near Playa el Agua, said he let the gunmen in when they asked for a room. ‘Next minute one of them pistol-whipped me over the head and another three women, including one armed with a knife, rushed in behind them,’ he said.

‘I was bundled into the kitchen and held hostage along with a couple of guests. ‘They started going through the rooms looking to take things and came across the two British brothers who put up resistance. ‘All I could hear was the robbers shouting in Spanish “dollars, dollars” and the sound of punching and slapping.’ He added that five shots were fired and said he had identified two of the attackers from photos shown to him by police.

‘One is apparently a Colombian man who is extremely dangerous and has already committed several murders,’ he said. Well-loved: Tributes poured in for the London firefighter, pictured on his social networking page during a night out

Mr Ossel, a keen traveller who lived in Bedford and worked for London Fire Brigade, died on Monday evening.



His father Ben, a self-employed building contractor, flew out to the island the following day to be with Jack, who is studying politics, philosophy and economics at London Metropolitan University.

Their mother, Annabelle, 56, a magazine picture researcher, stayed at the £350,000 five bedroom semi-detached family home in Cople near Bedford.

Tourist hotspot: Mr Ossel was on the popular destination island of Isla Margarita. Here he is pictured on a glacier

Mr Wynne has paid tribute to Mr Ossel, who he said always loved travelling with friends.

‘Tom was one of those people who could never sit still for more than five minutes. He took me to places I would never have thought to go.’

Isla de Margarita: London fireman Thomas Ossel, 28, died following a botched robbery attempt

Last night tributes poured in for Mr Ossel, a keen Liverpool fan.



London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said: 'We were shocked and saddened to learn of Tom's untimely death. I know he will be sorely missed by his fellow firefighters.



'Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this sad and difficult time.'

Tourist destination: Isla Margarita, where Thomas Ossel was shot dead by robbers in a guest house



On a Facebook tribute site one friend Andy Kinkead said: 'I still can't believe that this has happened. I always imagined Tom growing old on a beach somewhere. I will never forget the good old days that we all had. You will be missed.' Another friend, Amy Nicholas, said: 'It's not fair that you had your life cut short. You can tell by how many people have posted messages on your wall how popular and well loved you were and how many lives you touched with your infectious personality.' Jacqueline Baxter, a friend of the family, said: 'At the moment their father has travelled to Venezuela and obviously their mum is not able to make a statement.

'The younger son is still out there, so he is still at considerable risk.'

Venezuela's popular Isla Margarita attracts 2.5million visitors a year



Mr Ossel, on his Myspace page, described himself as a keen traveller. He wrote: 'Love to travel...have been to nearly 40 countries now..would love to make it 100 one day.



'Love watching and playing football...huge Liverpool fan, but constantly pissed off with them as they are so frustrating.

'Like cooking...always trying new foods...did a cookery course in Thailand so forever making Thai food.'

Isla Margarita is one of Venezuela’s most popular tourist destinations. More than 150,000 of its 2.5million tourists last year were northern Europeans.

But the country has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Two people are murdered every hour on average

Most of the deaths occur in crowded slums but richer residential areas are far from safe, cars jump red lights on deserted streets and few people are willing to risk walking outside.

Travel advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office warns that street crime in Venezuela is high, and that armed muggings and 'express kidnappings' - opportunistic abductions to extort money from someone - are regular occurrences.



A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: 'We can confirm the death of a British National on Margarita Island in Venezuela on July 18.