MADRID, December 10 (Reuters) – Spanish police are investigating the disappearance of four members of Cameroon’s women’s handball team, who apparently fled from a hotel in Valencia, where they were competing in the world championships.
The Cameroonian delegation reported the women missing on Thursday, a police spokesman said.
The police were not treating the disappearance as suspicious as the women left with all their belongings and there were no signs of a struggle.
“It appears the women left on their own,” the spokesperson said, adding that police had no theories as to where they might have gone. The championships started on December 1.
Athletes have frequently used international sporting events to seek asylum or escape poor conditions in their home countries, including seven Cameroonians who disappeared during the 2012 London Olympics.
FACTBOX – Major defections in sport nL4N2PC387
(Reporting by Nathan Allen; editing by Clara-Laeila Laudette and John Stonestreet)
((n.allen@thomsonreuters.com; +34 617 792 131;))
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