Member of Rwanda's Paralympic women's volleyball team missing in Paris, Police launch investigation
A member of Rwanda's Paralympic women's sitting volleyball team has gone missing in Paris.
The athlete did not appear at the opening ceremony, despite arriving in the French capital earlier this month.
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On August 20, she left her accommodation in Paris to visit a restaurant with a group of people but did not return.
A police investigation has since been launched.
This was confirmed in a statement on Wednesday morning, before the Paralympic opening ceremony.
The police statement said the 'worrying disappearance' was being looked into and that it had been referred to the BRDP [the Brigade for the Suppression of Crimes against Persons].'
The Rwandan ambassador has since made a visit to the location of the athlete’s disappearance.
Despite missing one of their squad members, Rwanda's women began their sitting volleyball campaign at Paris 2024 on Thursday.
They lost 3-0 (25-13, 25-10, 25-7) to Brazil.
The ceremony was attended by many athletes from Rwanda but a volleyball player was missing
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Rwanda's next match is against Slovenia on Saturday.
While it is highly concerning and there are genuine fears for the missing volleyballer's safety, this is not the first time an athlete has disappeared at an Olympic or Commonwealth Games.
More than a dozen athletes - including two from Rwanda - were declared missing during or immediately after the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
It is understood that many of them ran away to claim asylum.
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However, it is not known if the volleyball player currently missing in Paris fled deliberately.