British tourists were among 70 boat passengers who were detained by a local group in the Peruvian Amazon.

The passengers were detained in protest over a lack of government action to tackle oil spills in a river.

The group of foreign nationals, which the BBC said included at least three Brits, were later released, although their belongings were kept on the boat.

Peruvian news outlet RPP Noticias reported 70 passengers, including foreign nationals from the UK, US, Spain, France and Switzerland, were originally held after travelling in river boats.

Sky News said community members has initially told local media they planned to hold the tourists for around six to eight days, but officialstravelled to the area to try to sort out the dispute.

The alarm was raised when one of the detainees posted on social media, saying the group was ‘physically fine’ and urging: “Help me help them be heard.”

The protesters claim two children and a woman had been killed in the area due to oil spills, with the latest happening in September.

Angela Ramirez posted on Instagram: “Help us spread the word. We are in Cuninico. We are hostages of the indigenous community. There was an oil spill that caused two deaths.

“They have been very nice and respectful with us, but this is the only way for them to get the attention of the government. The faster they get to be heard, the faster they will let us go.”

The UK Foreign Office said: “We are in contact with the local authorities and a very small number of British nationals involved in an incident in Peru.”

Article updated on 6 Nov.