Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Commonwealth Games in doubt after bridge collapse



A footbridge being built near the main stadium for the Commonwealth Games distorted Tuesday, injuring 23 construction workers and putting the event in further jeopardy less than two weeks before the opening ceremony.

The accident was the latest setback to New Delhi's bothered preparations for the games, which bring together more than 7,000 athletes and officials from the 71 countries and territories in the commonwealth every four years.

Of the 23 workers who were hurt, five were seriously injured and taken to hospitals after the fall down of the footbridge.

The bridge connects the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium the site of the opening and closing ceremonies and the track and field competition for the Oct. 3-14 games with a parking set.

Earlier in the day, Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennell contacted the Indian government and urged them to finish work on the athletes' village, which many have called "unlivable."

Many nations that have already sent their advanced parties to set up within the village have made it copiously clear that, as of the afternoon of September 20th, the Commonwealth Games Village is seriously compromised. The CGF has asked the Cabinet Secretary to immediately organize the necessary resources to fix all the outstanding issues to an acceptable level.

All games face such problems and they will be resolved before the athletes come in. These are not going to affect the games in any way as all venues are ready to host the ames.