Mutilated body parts wash up on Rio's Olympic beach

The 2015 Rio Olympics logo
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics are fast approaching, but concerns about whether or not the city is prepared to host the Games are mounting in the face of a growing list of scandals. On Wednesday, mutilated body parts, including a severed foot, washed up on Copacabana Beach near the court where the Olympic beach volleyball competitions are set to take place. Police aren't sure where the body parts came from, but they may be connected to recent violent attempts to capture a Brazilian drug trafficker that resulted in gun battles throughout the city's slums, The Independent reports.

Killings in Rio have been on the rise in the first half of 2016, according to The Associated Press. Rio's acting governor has warned the Games could be a "big failure" due to a lack of funding and security shortages. Last week, an Australian Paralympian was robbed at gunpoint in Rio while riding her bike. Meanwhile, the lab in charge of drug testing for the Games has been suspended for not conforming to international standards, and several high-profile athletes have decided to skip the Games due to fears about Zika.

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Jessica Hullinger

Jessica Hullinger is a writer and former deputy editor of The Week Digital. Originally from the American Midwest, she completed a degree in journalism at Indiana University Bloomington before relocating to New York City, where she pursued a career in media. After joining The Week as an intern in 2010, she served as the title’s audience development manager, senior editor and deputy editor, as well as a regular guest on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. Her writing has featured in other publications including Popular Science, Fast Company, Fortune, and Self magazine, and she loves covering science and climate-related issues.