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14 Aug, 2012 11:27

More African athletes go missing in London

More African athletes go missing in London

Four members of the Democratic Republic of Congo's Olympic delegation have disappeared after the closing ceremony of the London Games.

The whereabouts of judoka Cedric Mandembo, his trainer Ibula Masengo as well as boxing coach Blaise Bekwa and athletics coach Guy Nkita are unknown.

Mandembo competed in the +100kg category at the Games, but lost his opening match to Aleksandr Mikhailin of Russia in just 49 seconds.

Congolese Sports Minister Baudouin Banza Mukalayi, said he wasn’t aware of the disappearance of his charges. "I don't know. I left London this morning," the official told AFP news agency on Monday. "Yesterday I was with officials before the closing ceremony. They gave me a report that everything was going well."

DR Congo is one of the poorest countries in Africa and has been in a state of war for decades.

It’s not the first disappearance at the London Games as seven Cameroonian athletes also fled the Olympic Village last week.

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