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False alarm: China men’s basketball team deny reports of encountering Rio fatal shooting

A staff member of the team says magazine report is not true as team were travelling in separate coach to journalists; the media bus is the one caught up in gunfire 2km from airport

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Photos purportedly show the scene following a shooting along one of the highways from the airport in Rio to the Athletes’ Village. Photo: Weibo

The Chinese men’s basketball team has denied reports that its players encountered gunfire while they were en route to the Athletes’ Village from Rio’s international airport.

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The Chinese-language Basketball Magazine posted on the mainland’s micro-blogging site Weibo that its journalists and others met the team at the airport late Wednesday night (Brazil time).

Basketball Magazine’s verified Weibo account reported that China’s men’s team coach encountered gunfire (Chinese language link) along the route from the airport to the Athletes’ Village.

Fortunately no one on the coach was hurt. However, it was later reported that six local people were killed in the incident.

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A reporter for Basketball Magazine described how a large number of Chinese reporters and players were making their way to the Olympic Village from the airport.

“The bus was 2km away from Rio airport, when a roadside shoot-out suddenly occurred,” details the post.

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