Ten young Burundian handball players who participated in the Under-19 World Championship which takes place in Croatia until August 13 have disappeared in the middle of the tournament. In a press release published on Thursday, the local police said that the young men, born in 2006, “left this Wednesday around 3:30 p.m. the premises of the university city of Rijeka”, where they were staying for “an unknown direction”.
The police launched an operation “with the aim of finding the missing persons and to establish the facts and circumstances of their disappearance”. She clarified that the players were “not answering phone calls”.
One match canceled, the team forfeited
The Croatian Handball Federation, organizer of the tournament, indicated that the Burundian players, who had already played several matches in the group stage, had disappeared the day before a match against the selection of Bahrain, which therefore did not have this place on Thursday. The Burundi team was forfeited resulting in a 10-0 victory for Bahrain. Burundi are due to face New Zealand on Friday, provided the players are found.
“We are in shock, loose Dauphin Nikobamye, the president of the Burundian Handball Federation quoted by the Croatian media Index. Both us, as an association, and the parents of our national team players, with whom we are in constant contact. We ask anyone who can help us find our boys to do so. I don’t even know how we would get home without them. »
