Multiple African athletes have gone missing at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. This latest batch is the second group to have disappeared.
Five more African athletes may have vanished from the Commonwealth Games, organisers said Thursday, after eight competitors from Cameroon were suspected of fleeing a day earlier.
Gold Coast organisers confirmed reports that athletes from Rwanda and Uganda were thought to have gone missing, while they were also looking to verify the whereabouts of two squash players from Sierra Leone.
More than 100 athletes overstayed their visas at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Athlete visas for the Commonwealth Games expire on May 15.
Eight athletes from conflict-hit Cameroon — one third of the central African country’s 24-strong team — were said to be missing from the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday, sparking an Australian Border Force manhunt.
As the search continues for Cameroon’s five boxers and three weightlifters, reports say the welfare of the athletes came first.
Cameroon team manager Victor, Agbor Nso, told local media he had reported the matter to police on Wednesday.
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister, Peter, Dutton warned that athletes would be forcibly removed from the country if they attempted to overstay their visas.