Head of Australian delegation says Olympic Village 'simply not safe or ready'
The Australian Olympic delegation is set to arrive in Rio, but team organizers say the Olympic Village is "simply not safe or ready" to accomodate them.
Kitty Chiller, the head of the team, says her crew has been working all week to prep their rooms for the athletes' arrival but kept running into problems with the plumbing, wiring, lighting and cleaning of the units.
She says they gave their section of the village a stress test on Saturday and came away convinced the units were uninhabitable.
Rio Village not safe or ready - Kitty Chiller.https://t.co/uZCSJdhFHD pic.twitter.com/8qo4BIBmWe
— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) July 24, 2016
"Water came down walls, there was a strong smell of gas in some apartments, and there was 'shorting' in the electrical wiring," she said. "We have been living in nearby hotels because the village is simply not safe or ready."
Team spokesman Mike Tancred discussed the test as well:
"We're having plumbing problems, we've got leaking pipes. We've got electrical problems. We've got cleaning problems. We've got lighting problems in some of the stairwells," Tancred told the AP.
Chiller said the Britain and New Zealand teams are facing similar issues.
The Australian team is due to arrive Monday.
