The Cameroon Olympic Chef de Mission, David Ojong, has confirmed this week that their entire boxing team of five athletes plus two others have absconded from the Olympic Village and cannot be contacted.
The whereabouts of the athletes is unknown, sparking fears that they could simply disappear into the system.
At present the athletes have done nothing wrong, as their visas to come to the UK to compete in the Olympic Games remain valid for the duration of the Olympic period which actually lasts until November. However, with the closing ceremony looming on Sunday, there are fears that the athletes could fail to turn up for the flight home and overstay their visas.
In a statement back to his Ministry of Sport and Physical Education in the Cameroon capital Yaounde, Mr Ojong said: "What began as rumour has finally turned out to be true. Seven Cameroonian athletes who participated at the 2012 London Olympic Games have disappeared from the Olympic Village."
The first to disappear was the reserve team goalkeeper for the Cameroon women's' football team, Drusille Ngako, 25. Her teammates were sent to Coventry for their last preparation match against New Zealand, but Ms Ngako had vanished.
A few days later, swimmer Paul Edingue, 21, went missing from his flat with all of his personal belongings. Later in the week, all five boxers eliminated from competition disappeared.
At present, of the 59 athletes sent to the games by Cameroon, 28 have already flown home, 24 remain in the athletes' village, and seven have gone missing.
It is not the first time that athletes from the Cameroon have disappeared at major international events. A spokesman for the Cameroon Olympics team, Emmanuel Tataw, told the Associated Press that Cameroon athletes had absconded at both the Athens and Sydney games. In both cases they left to seek better lives abroad and in both cases never returned home.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: "The team has obviously raised a concern and the police are obviously informed."
Source:
London 2012: Cameroon boxing team go missing (The Independent)
It was to be expected. It usually happens at every Olympic Games.