A loud blast shook the media seats near the finishing line of the men’s cycling road race on the first day of the Rio Olympics when Brazil’s bomb squad detonated an unattended backpack on Saturday, amid tight security at South America’s first Games.
The blast occurred within 24 hours of a man being shot dead outside Maracana stadium where the opening ceremony of Rio Olympics took place.
An anti-bomb squad at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janerio, detonated an unattended backpack near the end of the cycling course on Saturday, a spokeswoman for the public security department said.
A witness reported seeing bomb squad agents in protective clothing operating near the area where media were seated on the boulevard of Copacabana beach. That followed the detonation of another unattended bag near the same spot on Friday evening during the opening ceremony for the Games.
Officials expect the bag may have belonged to a homeless man, but protocol requires any unattended objects to be destroyed, she said. The controlled blast occurred at 1:45 pm local time.
Reporters could hear a loud boom and felt the ground shake as the cyclists had about 70 kilometers to go on Saturday.
A half dozen military police were cordoning off the area. No one was immediately evacuated, and it did not appear that anyone was injured. The race was continuing and had not been rerouted.
Indian Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj also tweeted about the blast.
In recent days, bomb squad members have detonated several unattended bags in controlled explosions around Rio amid high security.
Man Shot Dead Near Maracana Stadium
Spectators leaving the opening ceremony of the Olympics were confronted by the body of a man shot dead near Maracana Stadium.
Eyewitnesses said on early Saturday that blood poured from the body onto the road as medics tended to the man next to an ambulance.
Loud multiple gun shots were heard earlier by photographers from The Associated Press, forcing games volunteers and others leaving Friday night’s ceremony to duck for cover behind cars. A shooter was seen running from the scene and fleeing in a car close to a university parking lot.
Organising committee spokesman Mario Andrada says his group will check on this but does not have any information on any shooting outside or close to the stadium.
(With inputs from AP and Reuters.)
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