Mutilated body parts found on Rio shore next to beach volleyball site

Mutilated body parts have been discovered on the shores of the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. Local police said the body was found very close to the place where the beach volleyball event is set to take place during the upcoming 2016 Olympics from 5 to 20 August.

The body was first found on Wednesday (29 June) by a local street vendor, who informed a Rio newspaper. Police later confirmed the existence of the mutilated body on the beach site to Reuters, without offering further details.

Construction work is under way at the site for the beach volley ball event. Preparations had been briefly halted a few weeks ago for lack of permits.

A photo taken at the incident scene shows a black plastic bag that reportedly contained a human foot.

The incident also follows days after a police raid seized marijuana in a city slum. The drug packets had labels with the Rio 2016 Olympics logo, narcotics commander Felipe Curi told AFP.

Meanwhile, clashes raged in Rio as a police search to recapture a drug trafficker, who escaped from a hospital, ended in gun battles. Ten people were reported killed in the shootings, and nearly 50 schools were shut over the past few days, according to the Associated Press.

The latest incident has added to the already long list of woes the city has been facing, including rising crime rates, political turmoil, a financial emergency, the Zika outbreak, delayed constructions and police demonstrations over delayed and unpaid wages.

Earlier this month, Rio's interim governor Francisco Dornelles declared a financial emergency and warned that the 2016 Olympics could be a "big failure" if the state fails to procure enough funds from Brazil's federal government.

Besides, police protests over unpaid dues have raised worries about security arrangements during the games, expected to attract hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors and athletes. The police even held a banner reading: "Welcome to Hell."

Top golfer Jason Day said he would not be participating in the games this year because of Zika virus concerns. He is the latest sportsperson to join other golfers from Australia and Fiji to withdraw from the games. Britain's heptathlon athlete Jessica Ennis-Hill has also announced she would not be present for the 2016 Olympics.