Rio organisers apologise to athletes, tourists for robbery

Rio de Janeiro, Aug 3 (IANS) The Rio 2016 organising committee has apologised to tourists and athletes who were robbed in the city and advised them to be alert in order to be safe.

China has warned its citizens visiting Brazil for Olympics of possible robbery and theft after a Chinese athlete complained that his luggage had been stolen at a hotel here. Similar complaints from officials, members of the media and others have also been voiced, reports Xinhua.

The spokesman of Rio 2016 Mario Andrada apologised to the tourists and athletes who have been victims of violent acts and robbery.

"They are our guest in Brazil. We feel very sorry. I hope they understand that we are very sorry about this."

"We will communicate with the security to make sure we find quickly an answer about why they were robbed, where they were robbed and by whom. To see if something could be recovered," said Andrada.

Rio Olympics' overall security personnel will be 88,000, including 47,000 police and 41,000 soldiers from the armed forces. The figure is more than double that used for the London 2012 Olympics.

"The measures that we are taking are much connected in the idea that the city has to be secure as a whole, not just on the Olympic part. We have more than 85,000 men and women working on security and intelligence. Most of the systems will be ready in use outside the Olympic part," added Andrada.

He suggested athletes and tourists to be alert during their stay in Rio.

"Don't count money in the street. If you have a nice camera, put it into a bag and only use when you have to take pictures. If you are alert, if you are looking around and paying attention, your chance of being a victim will be decreased. The bad guys usually look for people who are not paying attention."

--IANS

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