Anti-bomb squad blows up unattended backpack near Rio Olympics cycling track

Rio de Janeiro:  A controlled explosion was carried out near the finish line of the men’s road race in Rio de Janeiro as Brazil’s anti-bomb squad destroyed a suspect package around two hours and 20 minutes before the race was due to finish.

A loud bang was heard on the BBC’s coverage of the road race, with the commentators falling silent for a number of seconds before confirming that the noise had come from near the finish line.

Minutes later though, a number of journalists in Rio de Janeiro took to Twitter to confirm that the bang was caused by a controlled explosion carried out by the Brazilian anti-bomb squad, with the riders still more than 70km away.