Carl Nefdt (31) of Staithes Lane died in the early hours of Friday during a 15-minute fire-fight on Lake Albert between Ugandan soldiers and men in Congolese army uniforms.

According to local sources Mr Nefdt, who was the party leader, had rushed to the rescue of his team who were on a barge owned by Canadian oil company Heritage, which was being used to carry out oil exploration in the lake.

The barge was approached by gunmen wearing Congolese army uniforms when fighting broke out, during which time Mr Nefdt was shot and killed.

He was working as a Senior Seismologist for the company and lives and has family in Staithes.

A tribute left on the Whitby Gazette website reads: "I am so sorry to all his family, it's shocking, you don't think anything like this will happen to someone who lives so close, our sympathy goes to Angela, Bethany, Yves and Archie xxxx"

In a tribute from the Ugandan Petroleum and Production Exploration Department, which reflects the friendship and respect with which Carl was held by his colleagues in East Africa, Robert Tugume said:

"The news of the demise of our brother Carl Nefdt in the security incident on Lake Albert left me shattered.

"Carl had worked with us in Uganda since 1998.

"He was friendly, hardworking, selfless and was always ready to render help.

"He will be greatly missed by us, his friends and the seismic fraternity at large."

Local police are now carry out an investigation into the tragic incident.

You can leave a tribute here by following the instructions below to register.