Sports
Rio: Bomb scare before Nigeria, Spain basketball game
Journalists, volunteers and athletes were left inside when a controlled explosion took place inside Carioca 1 Arena in the Olympic Park just minutes before the start of the men’s group B basketball match between Nigeria and Spain.
According to Carioca 1 Venue Manager Herb Corbett, after a routine sweep of the arena after the previous match between Brazil and Croatia, an abandoned backpack was found in a bathroom of a spectator corridors.
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“Following safety protocol, the public had to be held outside of the arena, due to the fact that the bag was in a public corridor,” Corbett said. Around 80 journalists and photographers, 80 volunteers and personnel however, including AIPS reporters, were still inside.
“Experts removed the object and preliminary evaluation of the size and the location of the backpack allowed experts to authorize the start of the match, thus allowing athletes and journalists to stay in the venue,” she said.
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