Tournament News
Foreign SWC journos robbed
2009-12-05 14:03
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Cape Town - South African media reported on Saturday that two foreign television crews were robbed in Cape Town on Friday ahead of the draw for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
The Argus newspaper said that a BBC crew filming on one of the scenic routes in the city had expensive camera equipment stolen by a group of robbers who smashed the windows of the camera crews' car.
BBC producer Andrew Bell said that they had reported the incident to the police.
"We weren't that far away, but they were so quick - in and out like a flash," he said.
Meanwhile two German journalists, who were walking to their car in the centre of town, were accosted by a group of men armed with knives and told to hand over their valuables.
They gave them their wallets, cellphones and air tickets.
Earlier on Friday, journalists had to abandon the Cape Town International Convention Centre after a hoax bomb scare.
The scare, which forced the evacuation of the entrance to the centre for under an hour, was the second in the city before the draw, which was attended by thousands of prominent guests and media.
A journalist was arrested after claiming he had an explosive device in his bag, which he dropped and then tried to run away.
Also on Friday, a South African was arrested over two hoax calls outlining a threat to Cape Town international airport. The man was tracked down "within minutes" via the cellphone he used to make the calls to a Cape Town suburb.
Security issues are one of the main concerns at the World Cup.
