Major issues with the Rio 2016 Olympic Village have been revealed less than a fortnight before the start of the Games – with some athletes facing turning up to find their accommodation not ready.
Kitty Chiller, the Australian Chef de Mission, said the Village was “neither safe or ready” with the situation bound to cause serious alarm to both Rio organisers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Among the problems highlighted by Chiller are blocked toilets, leaking pipes, exposed wiring and darkened stairwells, with the Opening Ceremony swiftly approaching on August 5.
Dirty floors are another problem, Chiller said, while she claimed water has come through the ceiling in some areas leaving large puddles on the floor.
A number of other countries have also reportedly raised concern about conditions, with the IOC admitting to insidethegames that “extra work” was required with staff working around the clock.
It will take “another few days” to address this, however, meaning athletes arriving imminently may have to stay elsewhere.Chiller said that members of the Australian delegation had been due to move into the Barra da Tijuca facility on July 21, but had instead been staying in local hotels.
Concerns have been raised on a daily basis with both the Organising Committee and the IOC, she said.
Extra maintenance staff and more than 1,000 cleaners were supposedly dispatched as part of a bid to resolve concerns but Chiller said the issues, particularly the plumbing problems, have not been resolved.The Australian party decided to carry out a “stress test†where taps and toilets were simultaneously turned on in to see if the facility could cope when at full capacity.
“The system failed,” Chiller said.“Water came down walls, there was a strong smell of gas in some apartments and there was shorting in the electrical wiring.
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