A third of Cameroon’s athletes attending the Commonwealth Games in Australia have gone missing, the team said in a statement Wednesday.
Out of the total team of 24 members, five boxers and three weightlifters have disappeared over the space of three days, the statement said. They left in waves, with three going missing on the night of April 8, another two vanishing on April 9 before the remaining group left at night on April 10. Two of the eight left without competing.
Team attache Simon Molombe said he did not expect them to return. “I don’t think they will be back,” Cameroon’s Molombe told CNN Sport, confirming their disappearance had been reported to Australian police.
“Most of them departed in the night when everyone was sleeping. Nobody knows the direction they have gone,” Cameroon team spokesman Simon Lyonga told CNN affiliate Seven News.
According to Seven, the athletes’ visa requirements expire on May 15, allowing them to spend another month legally in Australia.
David Grevemberg, Commonwealth Games Federation CEO, said the situation remained an issue for the Cameroon team until the athletes breached their visas.
“It is obviously disappointing that some of the athletes who have come didn’t compete when scheduled to compete,” he said at a press conference Wednesday.