Olympic chief sacked for chaos in the 'unsafe' athletes' village (but mayor blames the problems on foreigners)

The head of the athletes’ village in Rio de Janeiro has reportedly been fired after the Olympic apartments were branded uninhabitable.

Mario Cilenti, 46, was reportedly removed from his post after claims that competitors arrived to scenes of chaos at the 3,600-flat complex.

Although the British rooms are said to be better than most, Team GB organisers still had to draft in cleaners to work around the clock before athletes could move in.

In some buildings water streamed through holes in the roof and there was faulty wiring. Elsewhere beds and toilet fixtures had been stolen.

Hockey players were the first Britons to arrive and they praised the last-minute clean-up. Goalkeeper Maddie Hinch tweeted: ‘Huge shout out to Team GB for all their hard work on our accommodation – it really does feels like home.’

Rio mayor Eduardo Paes blamed ‘foreigners’ for the disastrous village opening – saying Argentinian Mr Cilenti and other members of the Olympic organising committee, some of whom were from Britain, had ‘messed up’.

He added: ‘The athletes’ village was ready. Then the organising committee took charge for three months and there were extremely serious management problems. 

'During those three months people intruded into the apartments and a lot of things were stolen.’

Brazilian media reported Mr Cilenti and several key staff members had been fired while others from the team had quit. A Rio 2016 spokesman refused to comment.

The Australian team had found problems with gas, electricity and plumbing when they arrived, and initially stayed in hotels. Team chief Kitty Chiller said the village was ‘simply not safe or ready’.

Belarus’s team branded conditions ‘unsanitary’. Workers were still putting the finishing touches to the Olympic Park yesterday ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony.

There were also questions over security as the contract for hiring and training private security workers to screen for weapons was awarded just weeks ago. 

There were concerns that many jobs went to people with no security experience and little training but numbers have already been bolstered by soldiers.