An Olympic media shuttle bus was attacked on the way back to Barra Olympic park here on Tuesday as one of its windows was broken. The bus was hit two times after leaving Deodoro, north of Rio, for Barra Olympic park, southwest in the city. Police searched the bus and said it was stones, not bullets, to break the window, Xinhua news agency reported. Rio organising committee has confirmed this accident and a special investigation force including the federal police was formed to review it.
Around 12 people were in the bus when this accident occurred. Two of them suffered minor injuries. A journalist from Belarus suffered small cuts on the hand. A volunteer got injured on his arm. Although police said it was stones hitting the window, passengers on the bus suspected it was small-calibre bullet.
After the incident, all the buses leaving from Deodoro were escorted by the military. The incident came after a bullet hit a media centre and landed near a New Zealand team official on Saturday.
“We threw ourselves to the floor and two kilometers later the police came and escorted us to the main press centre with the broken windows,” Gaston Sainz of the Argentinian daily La Nacion, who was on the bus, said.
[related-post]
“Two impacts on the right side of the bus shattered two windows. A reporter from Belarus suffered a cut hand. There is confusion as to whether it was bullets or stones,” the reporter said.
The bus was carrying journalists returning from the Deodoro Olympic district to the main press centre at Barra da Tijuca.
Overall, the Olympic Games have gone off without a hiccup as the promised protests have not materialised on the ground. The horror scenario painted by many has not come to pas, thankfully for the beleaguered organisers. The only protests that have come are from the athletes themselves who are saying the accommodation at the Village are too small for comfort.