Eight athletes representing Cameroon at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast have been reported missing to Australian police by team officials.
The five boxers and three weightlifters - representing a third of the Cameroon team competing Down Under - disappeared from the athletes' village at Griffith University, the Cameroon delegation said.
Cameroon chef de mission Victor Agbor Nso said in a statement: "The Cameroon Commonwealth team is sad to announce that eight of the 24 athletes they took to the XXI Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia are missing from their respective rooms in the Games village.
"These athletes left in three waves. First in the night of April 8 three athletes departed the village. Then on April 9 two others were declared missing and last night three others left their rooms."
The athletes - two women and six men - were named as boxers Simplice Fotsala, Arsene Fokou, Ndzie Tchoyi, Ulrich Yombo and Christelle Ndiang, plus weightlifters Olivier Matam, David Minkoumba Petit and Arcangeline Sonkbou Fouodji. Two of the athletes had not yet competed.
"The Cameroon team officials have already notified the Australian police of the situation, as well as their state officials back in the country.
"In the meantime, the two other weightlifters of the delegation, along with the basketball players and officials have already left Australia and are presently airborne for Cameroon."
Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive David Grevemberg said: "These athletes are guests here in Australia, they are still within their visas and they have the right to travel freely.
"Right now we are worried about safety and welfare of the athletes and we are taking this very seriously and monitoring the situation with team Cameroon."
Peter Beattie, the local organising committee chairman, added: "There is a system to deal with this and it will be dealt with."
