Athletes go AWOL

2006-03-22 16:00

Melbourne - Australian police say they are increasingly concerned for the safety of two Commonwealth Games competitors who have gone missing from the athletes village.

Bangladesh 400m sprinter Tawhidul Mohammad Islam and Tanzanian boxer Omari Idd Kimweri disappeared on Monday and have not been seen since.

"We are concerned for their welfare and their safety," said Victoria police commissioner Christine Nixon.

"They left behind clothes and possessions, but their visas are valid until April 26 and, until that time, they are free to enjoy the country."

Nixon wouldn't comment on reports that Islam's family in Bangladesh could face imprisonment if he failed to return.

Islam finished fifth in his heat of the 400m at the Games on Monday but did not make the final.

Kimweri, a married civil servant from Dar es Salaam, lost his first fight at here to Ghanian Manyo Plange on Friday.

The issue of absconding athletes was a major issue at the last Commonwealth Games in Manchester four years ago.

Twenty-one athletes from the Sierra Leone squad, two thirds of their delegation, disappeared after the Games with immigration officials fearing that they used the games as a ploy to gain entry to the United Kingdom permanently.

Four Bangladeshi sprinters also vanished in Manchester as did Pakistani swimmer Abid Hussain.

His parents had signed a bond of about R107 000 assuring their son would return after the games.

- SAPA