Gold Coast (April 12, 2018): After eight, five more conflict-hit Cameroon’s athletes may have vanished from the Commonwealth Games, organisers confirmed on Thursday.
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.
“We’re obviously looking at it very carefully,” Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive David Grevemberg told reporters.
“Until it becomes a true issue and somebody has outstayed their visa, or have formally applied for asylum, we just need to continue to monitor the situations.
More than 100 athletes overstayed their visas at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Athlete visas for the Commonwealth Games expire on May 15, Grevemberg said.
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.
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton warned that athletes would be forcibly removed from the country if they attempted to overstay their visas.
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