Olympic Games 2016: Sailing venue with floating corpses, dead dogs and toxic waste 'won't be cleaned in time', warn Rio bosses
The city has failed to meet promises on cleaning Guanabara Bay, despite sailors' reports of animal and human carcasses floating in the water
![Brazil has said that the events will be held in a less polluted part of the water, outside of the bay or at its entrance. Source: Getty Images](https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2014/06/08/09/bayboatsv2v3.jpg)
Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
![Louise Thomas](https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/support-us/louise-thomas.png)
Louise Thomas
Editor
The Rio bay where the Brazil Olympics’ sailing competitions will be held won’t be clean for the games in 2016, the city’s mayor has said.
The city had promised to clean up the Guanabara Bay and reduce pollution by 80%, but the mayor admitted that it would not meet that target.
Sailors that have visited the site have described it as a dump, and reported dodging waste including discarded furniture, floating dog carcasses and even human corpses. But the country has said that the events will be held in a less polluted part of the water, outside of the bay or at its entrance.
The New York Times has described how Thomas Low-Beer, a Brazilian Olympic hopeful who sails in the bay, shuddered when recalling how he crashed into a submerged sofa and was capsized into the bay.
Millions of litres of untreated sewage are dumped in the bay every day, and locals tend to avoid bathing from the beaches inside it. The city has built new self-contained beaches for residents to swim in.
![A polluted tributary of Guanabara Bay is shown littered with garbage near Rio de Janeiro. Source: Getty Images](https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2014/06/08/09/tributary.jpg)
![According to the Deputy State Secretary of Environment just 34 percent of Rio's sewage is treated while the remainder flows untreated into the waters. Source: Getty Images](https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2014/06/08/09/tributary2.jpg)
"I am sorry that we did not use the games to get Guanabara Bay completely clean," Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes, told a press conference.
The bay will see its first events this summer, in the first official test event for the Rio games. Britain has announced a squad of 30 that will compete across all 10 events, in the same courses designated for 2016.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments