Sabotage possible in village mess
Organizers investigate problems as hundreds of rooms have defects
Sabotage by unhappy workers may have caused water and gas leaks, blocked toilets and electrical faults that slowed teams from moving into the athletes’ village, Rio Olympic organizers said Thursday.
“We are considering isolated cases, but we haven’t seen enough to say it was an organized sabotage thing,” Rio spokesman Mario Andrada said. He said the most likely cause was what he called “organizational problems.”
All 31 buildings at the massive compound for 18,000 athletes and staff were due to be ready at the end of Thursday, with the games opening in just over a week. Andrada says about 400 of the 3,600 rooms in the complex had defects.
South America’s first games have been plagued by problems, including the Zika virus, severe water pollution, security worries and slow ticket sales. But the slipshod construction is the first problem directly touching many teams and athletes.
Australia refused to check in at Sunday’s official opening, setting off pub- lic complaints by at least a dozen teams. Andrada described a “wild scramble” last weekend to find 650 plumbers and electricians.
A half-million foreign n tourists, dozens of heads of state and the attention of the world’s media. If there were ever a headache for anti-terror forces, it’s the Olympics.
In the aftermath of deadly attacks by the Islamic State group in France and elsewhere, Brazil, which has almost no experience combatting terrorism, is beefing up security for the games that start in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 5.
Plans include doubling the number of security forces on the streets, erect- ing more checkpoints and working closer with foreign intelligence agencies than Brazilians did in the 2014 World Cup.
A depleted Russian n team departed for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, missing dozens of athletes who were excluded amid the country’s doping scandal. Team members left for Brazil a day after an emotional farewell ceremony with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
More than 100 athletes from what was originally a 387-strong team have been barred from competing in Rio by international sports federations under sanctions which most Russian athletes consider unfair.