A fire broke out Wednesday morning, April 8, at Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic Park velodrome, prompting a major emergency response involving about 80 firefighters and 20 vehicles, authorities said.
Rio state military fire department said the fire was largely confined to the venue’s fabric roof.
There have been no reported injuries, and the interior of the building — including the Olympic Museum — remained untouched.
Rio mayor Eduardo Cavaliere told journalists that a small portion of the city’s 1,000-item Olympic museum, which lies inside the velodrome, was affected but that it could be fixed with only minor repairs.
“The structure of the velodrome itself is preserved and the track has not been hit at all,” Cavaliere said.
While the cause of this latest incident is currently under investigation, the facility has a history of roof fires.
