Tributes to Scots oil worker shot dead in Brazil

Peter Campsie with his wife and daughter. Picture: Universal News and Sport

Peter Campsie, 48, was killed by two gunmen in Rio de Janeiro as he returned home to his family following a business meeting.

The operations manager for Diamond Offshore Drilling International was shot twice as he tried to escape from his Lexus on Wednesday.

Campsie, from Montrose, Angus, had worked in Brazil for 16 years and lived in the city of Macaé, north of Rio, with his wife Janaina and ten-year-old daughter Joy.

Campsie, who started his career as an apprentice welder, is also survived by two sons, his mother, brother and sister.

In a statement, his family said: “He was a man who loved life and brought so much joy and laughter to those around him.

“Wherever Pete went, the good times followed. A darkness has fallen on us all as we try and make sense of why Pete had to die in the prime of his life.

“He was a loyal friend and father, brother and son who cared deeply about making sure everyone got the best out of their lives. Our anchor has been pulled away so cruelly.”

It is understood Campsie died at the scene of the attack in the late afternoon in the Niterói municipality. The gunmen fled empty-handed.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We were made aware of the death of a British national in Brazil on 2 April.

“We stand ready to provide consular assistance to the family at this difficult time.”

Police inquiries are continuing, but Campsie is understood to have been driving through Rio on Wednesday afternoon when a car drew up alongside him and he was attacked by two men with guns.

Another driver tried to help, but was scared off by the gunmen.

Campsie moved to Brazil 16 years ago.

“He absolutely adored his wife and daughter, who he called the Two Js,” his family said.

“While he loved his adopted homeland, he was always happy and excited to come back to the North-east to see his friends and family here.

“Pete was a golf fanatic and he would return home to Scotland with his clubs to play the many courses in Scotland.

“He and friends were building a golf course in Macaé – a project he approached with typical passion. Just days before his death he was celebrating the news the project had been given the full go-ahead.

“It is with great sadness that he will never see the course fully completed. It had been hoped it would be used for the Olympics in 2016.

“Pete genuinely touched many, many lives and our hearts break for the loss of this great man.”