Body parts have been discovered on Rio de Janeiro’s famous Copacabana Beach, just yards from where the beach volleyball Olympic athletes are set to compete.
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Police said a foot and other parts had been found on the famous sands of Copacabana beach on Wednesday, being cordoned off by officers and covered in black tarpaulin next metres from a new stadium for August’s events.
According to Jornal do Brasil, police say “it is not possible” to state the victim’s sex.
The reason for the death of the alleged young woman is under investigation, but it is still embarrassing to a city and country already reeling from financial problems, the Zika virus, corruption allegations involving construction companies and unfinished infrastructure and venues.
Now the games come as the state of Rio de Janeiro awaits emergency funding of 2.9 billion reais (NZ$1.2bn) to ensure financing for public services.
Francisco Dornelles, Rio’s acting governor, warned Monday that budget shortfalls could compromise security – and that the Olympics could be “a big failure”.
The state declared an official emergency and requested a federal bailout earlier this month but it hasn’t received the money.
The country is also sweating on the approval of almost a billion dollars in emergency funding to maintain its state services, with a crippling recession preventing public service workers from being paid.
Angry members of law enforcement protested against budget cuts and unpaid wages on Monday, with some greeting arrivals at Rio’s global airport with a sign that read in English, “Welcome to Hell”. One banner held by officers there read (via the BBC), “The police’s priority is the people, the government’s priority is the Olympics”.
He was arrested, and released, and since then, has been posting about the incident on Facebook which he said was a dare from his friends.
“My experience has been really unbelievable at the Olympics”.
The washed up body is the latest of many concerns headed into the Rio games.
Can they pull it off?
That’s all in a week’s work for Rio’s Olympics organizers. “The Olympics are taking place when the mosquito is not procreating, not active”.
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Serena Williams is intent on defending her Olympic titles in Rio and finds it sad that several athletes will miss out on an “amazing” experience because of worries about the Zika virus.
