Rio de Janeiro: Fire damages roof of velodrome in Olympic Park

A large fire damaged the roof of the velodrome in Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic Park, but the venue’s track was not affected.

About 80 firefighters and 20 fire engines battled the blaze after being called at 04:17 local time on Wednesday, the state’s military fire department said.

The venue, where Great Britain won six Olympic and eight Paralympic gold medals in 2016, houses the Olympic Museum which features exhibits ​and artefacts from the Games.

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere said a preliminary assessment had found “the track at the Olympic Velodrome was not damaged in any way”.

“It remains intact and well-preserved. Obviously, it will need to be cleaned and undergo some form of maintenance before we can announce that the velodrome is back in operation,” he added.

Lt Col Fabio Contreiras told CNN Brazil firefighters tackled the blaze inside and outside of the velodrome, and worked to protect artefacts in the museum.

No injuries were reported and officials said there was no risk of the blaze spreading to other parts of the Olympic complex.

The velodrome roof previously caught fire twice in 2017, with both incidents linked to falling sky lanterns.