Australian athletes robbed in Rio during fire evacuation

Another day, another Olympic athlete robbed in Rio.

9News Australia reports three laptops were stolen from Australian athletes after the Olympic village was evacuated on Friday. A fire broke out in a parking lot garbage can just before 5 A.M. As the athletes went outside, someone stole laptops and clothing.

The theft seemed to be calculated . 9News reports the fire was caused by a discarded cigarette. With no athletes around, the thieves could take what they wanted without fear of being caught. It’s crappy that athletes who are in Rio to compete at the games have to worry about their personal belongings.

It’s not the first time someone was robbed in advance of the games. On Monday, Chinese hurdler Shi Dongpeng was vomited on and had his camera equipment stolen from a Rio hotel. The incident was bizarre and not exactly the greatest welcome for Dongpeng.

Per 9News, there’s a no-smoking-allowed policy at the venue. The fire alarms were reportedly silenced due to nearby maintenance. It’s reported athletes weren’t advised of the silenced alarms and were said to be alerted to the fire by smoke in the building. It sounds like a terrifying situation to be in. The Australian Olympics committee has beefed up security and have added guards on all floors of their building.

Rio was in a crunch to get the games completed, but not having fire alarms active when Olympians have arrived is unacceptable. As are the rampant thefts. Hopefully, this is the last of robberies at the games.