Carabinieri police are investigating
to determine whether a controversial bobsleigh track being built
in Cortina d'Ampezzo, which is set to co-host the 2026 Winter
Olympics with Milan, was sabotaged or accidentally damaged,
investigative sources have said.
A refrigeration pipe was found detached, in the middle of a
nearby street on Friday and investigators are trying to
determine whether it was an act of sabotage or whether it fell
because it had not been properly installed, the sources said.
Italy is rushing to finish the sliding venue for the bobsleigh,
luge and skeleton competitions, which should be tested in March.
Simico, the agency in charge of building the infrastructure for
the Winter Olympics, said in a statement Friday that the
refrigeration pipe was removed from the venue.
The committee in charge of the infrastructure at next year's
Winter Olympics filed a criminal complaint following the
incident and the Carabinieri police are investigating the
matter, the sources explained.
The transport ministry on Friday slammed as disquieting the
alleged sabotage of the bobsleigh track.
Cortina, one of Italy's most famous ski resorts and Milan, more
than 400 kilometres away, are the main hosts of the Games next
year.
"What happened in Cortina, where unknown people sabotaged the
bobsleigh track is disquieting and grave", the transport
ministry said in a note.
"Those seeking to damage the Olympics are damaging Italy in
front of the world.
"The State will not be intimidated", it also said.
The construction site for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic and
Paralympic Games, will soon be visited by a delegation of the
International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The construction of the bobsleigh track, which is nearly
completed and should be tested next month to host the Olympic
competition, has sparked a bitter controversy over the felling
of dozens of trees.
Numerous environmental associations reportedly filed complaints
in relation to the demolition of the old Monti track and
tree-felling to make way for the new facility.
Last year plans to build a new bobsleigh track in Cortina looked
set to be scrapped due to cost issues, amid proposals to hold
the sliding events outside Italy.
The disused track at Cesana in Piemonte created for the Torino
2006 Winter Olympics was also put forward as another option.
However in the end the government and Veneto region decided to
press ahead with the original plans.
Milan and Cortina will host the Winter Olympics from February 6
to 22, 2026, and then the Paralympics from March 6 to 15.
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