RIO DE JANIERO (CelebrityAccess) — Bomb disposal experts used a controlled demolition to destroy a suspicious package found at Rio's Maracana Stadium, the site which will host the opening ceremony at the Summer Olympics on Friday.
According to local media, emergency services detonated a backpack or toolbox outside the Maracana Stadium on Sunday night while dress rehearsals were taking place for the opening ceremony.
A Rio-based Wall Street Journal correspondent, Paul Kiernan reported that the detonation was part of a training drill.
"Explosion today at Rio's Maracana stadium was a training exercise, fire department says," he tweeted.
The 78,000-capacity Maracana is Brazil’s best-known stadium and has previously been used to host the World Cup final in 1950 and 2014. – Staff Writers
