Rio 2016: more than half of Athletes Village buildings still to pass safety tests.
Less than two weeks ahead of the Olympics, the Rio 2016 organizing committee has acknowledged that 19 of the 31 buildings in the Athletes Village have yet to pass safety tests.
Close to 10% of the competitors have already arrived in Brazil and many are housed in the village, though the shoddy conditions – which include flooded floors, broken elevators, mold, holes in the ceiling, blocked toilets, and exposed wiring – have shocked some team managers, athletes, and volunteers.
The organizers promise to resolve the problems by Thursday, but in the interim the Australian team has decided to temporarily rehouse its athletes. The Argentine, Dutch, and Italian teams have also complained and hinted that there may be demands for compensation.
“While the apartments look finished outside, we found some problems that have to do with plumbing and electricity,” Argentine Olympic Committee President Gerardo Werthein said. “In our building, we have five floors and two of them are uninhabitable. We are renting a number of apartments outside the villa and will move the technical personnel and staff there to guarantee proper accommodations for our team.”
“We all know how difficult is to find accommodations outside the village at this point, and although Rio says they will be ready, we cannot take any chances.” The risks were evident on Saturday when a small fire broke out in building 26, which is the home of the Dutch team.
Although Rio2016 said the faults affected only 5% of the rooms, spokesman Mário Andrada admitted only 12 of the 31 tower blocks have been checked and proved OK.
At: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jul/25/rio-2016-olympic-officials-athletes-village-unfinished
And: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/218717/coa-claims-rio-village-is-unfinished
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