Three Sri Lankan athletes have disappeared from the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK.
The athletes – a wrestler, a judo star and a judo coach – have not been seen since Monday August 1. The missing athletes had returned their passports and therefore could not leave the country.
Officials have now deleted the documents of all the remaining squad members currently at the games in Birmingham. The 161 athletes and coaching staff received standard 180-day government visas for the event.
Sri Lankan team spokesman Gobinath Sivarajah said: We have asked all athletes and officials to return their passports to our respective officials in all villages after the incident. The police are investigating and the three are unable to cross UK borders. What happened is really unfortunate. »
It is feared that the three disappeared to avoid returning to Sri Lanka. The country is currently in the grip of the worst economic crisis in more than seven decades as medicine, fuel and food run out. A state of emergency was declared after a series of protests across the country.
READ ALSO: Commonwealth Games 2018: Five Cameroonian athletes missing (afrikmag.com)
At the 2018 Games on Australia’s Gold Coast, almost a third of the Cameroonian team disappeared after the event. The Rwandan weightlifting coach also fled during a toilet break at the host stadium. It was reported that at least 230 athletes and officials applied for protection visas in Australia after the event, but the majority were refused.
