Overhead TV camera falls in Olympic park, injures two

An overhead television camera suspended by cables crashed to the ground in the Olympic Park on Monday, lightly injuring at least three people among the crowds below, the latest in a string of mishaps to hit South America's first Games.

A TV news report showed two of the injured looking dazed, sitting on the ground near the heavy black camera housing. One woman, bleeding from her head as medics arrived, was taken away on a stretcher. The other walked from the scene wearing a neck brace.

"I was looking to the camera ... and suddenly I heard a big snap on the cable and the camera came down," said visitor Chris Adams, a member of the British gymnastics delegation, who was taking pictures inside the park at the time.

The camera belonged to the International Olympic Committee's official broadcasting unit, Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), a spokesman for the Rio Games organisers said.

"The OBS is there trying to see what happened," spokesman Mario Andrada said.

Rio organisers have been struggling with a series of security and logistical problems, including the robbery of U.S. gold medallist swimmer Ryan Lochte and three of his team mates at gunpoint in the early hours of Sunday.

In the first week of the Games, Portugal's visiting education minister was robbed at knife point, bullets flew into the equestrian centre, a Games bus was attacked with stones and the diving and water polo pools turned green with algae.

• The Rio Olympics, on Rediff.com