Missing athletes won't be banned

MELBOURNE, March 25 (UPI) -- Athletes who have disappeared during the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne will not be banned from competing, officials said Saturday.

Federation President Mike Fennell was referring to the 10 members of Sierra Leone's team who have been unaccounted for since Tuesday.

"We recognize that in a number of countries there are considerable hardships and therefore, whether athletes or other citizens, they will go to other countries where they think they will be better off," Fennell said.

Visas for the Games' athletes expire next month when competition ends and they will be considered illegal if they remain in Australia.

Two other athletes from Bangladesh and Tanzania are also missing, the BBC reports.

A spokesman for the Sierra Leon team, Robert Green, said, "It's not the nicest thing to do to the host country and your teammates to walk out."

Twenty-one members from Sierra Leone's team disappeared during the 2002 Commonwealth Games, along with six other athletes.

Athletes have also disappeared during the 2002 Asian Games and the 2000 Sydney Olympics.