Overhead TV camera falls in Olympic park, injures seven

An overhead television camera suspended by cables crashed to the ground in the Olympic Park on Monday, injuring seven people including two children, in the latest of a string of mishaps to hit South America’s first Games.

No one was badly hurt in the accident, which comes as another embarrassment for organizers already facing safety concerns after the armed robbery of US gold medalist swimmer Ryan Lochte and three of his team mates at the weekend as well as the robberies of two visiting government ministers.

The aerial camera, encased in a heavy black cover, belonged to the official Olympics broadcast unit and fell about 20 meters (65 ft) after cables snapped, sending screams through the crowd, witnesses and officials said.

“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.

A policeman stands near an overhead television camera that fell in Rio de Janeiro. (Reuters)

A Brazilian television news report showed two women looking dazed, sitting on the ground near the camera. One woman, bleeding from the face as medics arrived, was taken away on a stretcher. The other walked from the scene wearing a neck brace.

A total of four people were taken to hospital after the incident, including two children who had been hit by a cable, a Rio Games official said. All were expected to be discharged from hospital later on Monday, the official said.