Argentina says two Olympic village floors are 'uninhabitable'

Argentina's Olympic committee said Monday that it has been forced to seek alternative accommodation for its athletes as concerns about the Rio 2016 village mounted.

The South American country's Olympic chief, Gerardo Werthein, told the Clarin newspaper that apartments on two of the five floors reserved for the team were "uninhabitable".

"The apartments are completed on the outside, but when we tested them we found problems with plumbing and electricity," Werthein said. "Rio said it will finish this, but we can't take any risk."

Werthein's comments came a day after Australia refused to move into the complex in Rio's west, citing issues such as blocked toilets, leaking pipes and exposed wiring.

Earlier on Monday, Italy said it had contracted its own workers to address its concerns. Brazil, Mexico, Great Britain and New Zealand have also complained about the state of their apartments.

On Sunday, the local organizing committee vowed to fix the problems within three days. But Rio 2016 spokesman Mario Andrada said on Monday that the repair work might take longer.

"We have 630 men working to fix the problems at the Olympic Village," Andrada said on Twitter. "They should complete the impeccable handover of the village by the end of the week, probably by Thursday."

Built at a cost of around 1.5 billion US dollars, the 31-building village will house 18,000 athletes and officials during the August 5-21 Games. Endit