Argentine vice president escapes assassination attempt

Argentina's Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was unharmed on Thursday when a man with a loaded gun tried to shoot her, but the gun did not go off, officials said, Report informs with reference to Reuters.

The attack underscores rising political tension in Argentina and around the region that has put politicians on edge from Colombia to Brazil.

"A man pointed a firearm at her head and pulled the trigger. Cristina is still alive because, for some reason yet to be confirmed, the gun ... did not fire," President Alberto Fernandez said in a televised address.

The president said the gun had been loaded with five bullets.

"This is the most serious event we have gone through since Argentina returned to democracy," he said.

Fernandez de Kirchner is on trial on corruption charges, and hundreds of supporters had gathered outside her Buenos Aires home when the attack took place.
Video footage showed a man holding a pistol inches from her head as she greeted supporters.