Scottish police looking into reports of missing athletes

[AP Photo]

Police in Scotland said they had received reports that “several” athletes were unaccounted for following the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Ugandan sporting news website NBS Sport said four members of the nation’s boxing squad had reportedly gone missing in Scotland and did not rejoin the rest of the delegation before the team’s scheduled return to Uganda on Tuesday.

The Pakistan Today newspaper also reported a missing boxer from the Pakistan team.

“Police Scotland has received reports of several athletes who are unaccounted for. Enquiries are ongoing to assess the circumstances, and early engagement is taking place with the Home Office,” a Police Scotland spokesperson said.

There have been numerous cases of athletes seeking asylum following previous Commonwealth Games, including 2018 on the Gold Coast in Australia and in 2014 when hosted by Glasgow again.

“We’ve welcomed nearly 3,000 athletes to the city from 74 nations. We want to deliver a safe and secure games, so we work really closely with Police Scotland, the Border Force, and UK visas and immigration to make sure everyone arrives and departs in line with regulation,” Games chief executive Phil Batty said. MDT/AP