The Australian Olympic Committee has confirmed a fire in its team’s building for the Rio Games prompted an evacuation of staff and athletes. “Now we want to do something positive for the people, so perhaps it will be a way of showing the world (the problem), so that there will be fewer refugees in the world”, she added.
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The figures covered the whole state of Rio, although the vast bulk of incidents are in the city of Rio and its suburbs, where some 500,000 tourists are expected for the Olympics starting August 5. “Some smoke filled up the stairwell”, said Australian Olympic Committee spokesperson Mike Tancred said as officials went door-to-door to alert about 100 athletes.
Refugee team chef de mission Tegla Loroupe, a former distance running star whose foundation in her native Kenya runs a support programme for refugees, said: “The sport gives them wisdom and courage, the wisdom to fight and not to lose hope”.
It is the latest accommodation setback for both the organisers and the Australian team, with bosses having been initially reluctant to move in to due to safety fears.
She has expressed concern that workers and contractors continue to smoke in the “smoke-free” Olympic Compound, where construction is still ongoing, and mounds of rubble, debris and discarded materials are still spread about. The Australian contingent was allowed to re-enter the facility shortly thereafter.
Potent was oblivious to the fire in the basement of Australia’s residence at the athletes’ village, which team hierarchy believe was started by a cigarette tossed into piles of rubbish by a local worker.
“Australia was right”, he said.
“The stairwells and corridors filled with smoke, but the fire was confined to the vehicle park and no-one was injured”.
“If there is a positive out of it, it’s that we did engage the emergency response plan, everyone was evacuated in a calm and orderly fashion, no-one is injured, and there is plenty of learnings to take”.
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“That was a mistake of the organisation”, he said.
