After the entire Burundi robotics team went missing after an international competition in Washington, two of the teens have been reportedly found in Canada.
The six teens from the East African country were unaccounted for following the final matches in the FIRST Global Challenge in Washington, D.C., a competition that ushered in teens representing 157 nations, the Washington Post reported.
Two members of missing Burundi robotics team spotted crossing into Canada, police say https://t.co/SIQrUUSnhw via @luciasuarezsang pic.twitter.com/bpY0N37oQT
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 20, 2017
Don Charu Ingabire, 16, and Audrey Mwamikazi, 17 were found in Canada, according to D.C. police spokeswoman, and the four others have been found safe though no other details were provided.
The team was reported missing around 5pm on Tuesday, just before the closing of the event.
Richard Irakoze, 18, Kevin Sabumukiza, 17, Nice Munezero, 17 and Aristide Irambona, 18 comprised the rest of the teens who could not be found by their adult mentor, Canesius Bindaba, following the event. According to police reports, Bindaba had told authorities that “he does not know where (they) could have went,” CNN reported.
Missing robotics team from #Burundi was staying at this dorm at Trinity Washington University in DC @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/YwBYIm4ciL
— Kristin Wright (@kwrightnbc4) July 20, 2017
FIRST Global President Joe Sestak, a former Navy admiral and congressman, alerted police after word that the students were not on site. Police posted fliers of the missing teens, tweeting the names, ages, descriptions and photos of the four missing boys and two missing girls.
Two of the teens were seen leaving the US for Canada, Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Aquita Brown told CNN. And while D.C. police said on Thursday that the teens were safe, and the other four were found and also safe, no other information was yet available.
Burundi’s Robotics Team Goes Missing After First Global Competition in D.C. https://t.co/Wue5hvpYRh pic.twitter.com/fM052e3NGX
— OkayAfrica (@okayafrica) July 20, 2017
“We haven’t been informed of anything,” Jose P. Escotto, spokesman for the group said early Thursday. Burundi Embassy officials in Washington also had no other information though they confirmed they were aware of the situation, according to the Washington Post.
A travel warning was issued last month by the State Department advising Americans of “political tensions, political and criminal violence, and the potential for civil unrest” in Burundi which has seen more than 400,000 people flee the country amid civil war and alleged human rights abuses, according to the Post.
The FIRST Global Challenge robotics competition was attended Tuesday by Ivanka Trump, who met with the all-girl six member team from Afghanistan. The team members made headlines when they were initially denied visas to attend the competition until President Trump intervened.
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
Frieda@bizpacreview.com
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
- ‘Are we next?!’ Kilmeade breaks down shady FBI actions, concludes Trump justified in his outrage - August 30, 2022
- Grandfather throws down with aggressive kangaroo that attacked his dogs, but who really won? - June 4, 2022
- ‘My name is Dr. Robinson’: Proud abortionist snaps at Chip Roy calling her ‘Miss’ during hearing - May 19, 2022
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
