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China 'orders Finnish Olympic cross-country skier to delete images of flooding in athletes' village' after she posted clips of a 'waterfall' cascading from light fittings
- Katri Lylynpera, 28, shared videos of the Finland team hotel being flooded
- Entire corridors being drenched in water after pouring through the light fixtures
- Desperate staff seen tried to dampen the stairs outside with hand towels
Katri Lylynpera, 28, shared videos of the Finland team hotel in Beijing being flooded last Wednesday.
The footage shows entire corridors being drenched in water after pouring through the light fixtures in yet another embarrassing moment for the much-maligned event
Separate footage shared by Ms Lylynpera showed floods coming out the front doors of her hotel, with desperate staff seen trying to dry the stairs outside with hand towels and salt.
But when the cross-country skier shared the videos of the flooding online, she was ordered to take them down at once, according to reports on social media.
It comes after China warned athletes at the games that they will be 'punished' if they stage any form of anti-Beijing protest.
The chilling warning shot was fired by Yang Shu, deputy director general of Beijing 2022's International Relations Department, who was asked to comment on concerns for competitors who speak out about rights issues.
In recent days, athletes have been left in tears after being forced to isolate in quarantine hotels, where the quality of food has left some losing weight and out of shape by the time they could compete.
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Katri Lylynpera, 28, shared videos of her room where the Finland athletes were staying being flooded last Wednesday. In the first clip, Ms Lylynpera showed the streaming water coming out the ceiling in the corridors of the hotel
In her first clip, Ms Lylynpera showed streaming water coming out the ceiling in the corridors of the hotel.
The streams of water covered the entire floor, even coming into her room as another person in the hotel ducks for cover in the background.
Captioning the video, she wrote the single word: 'Help!'
In a another clip showing the flood extending to outside the front of the hotel, it appears the front doors of the building have been bent outwards by the outpour.
She wrote: 'A nice waterfall reaches all the way out. Now the water is cut off and the flood is nearly finished.'
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In a another clip showing the flood extending to outside the front of the hotel, it appears the front doors of the building have been bent outwards by the outpour. Right: Desperate staff try to dry the stairs outside with hand towels
Leaked WhatsApp messages shared on Reddit appear to show Chinese authorities discussing silencing the Finnish Olympian after the flood.
One said: 'The China side asked them to remove the posts.'
The Finnish Olympic Committee has been approached for comment.
It comes after a litany of other issues at the Beijing Olympics, which has been marred by China's Zero Covid strategy, allegations the Communist regime is responsible for the genocide of the Uighur people and its venues in a region of China that has no snow.
Last week dozens of athletes thrown into virus isolation laid bare their misery - describing 'crying like crazy' after being hauled out of bed at 3am before being fed miserable food in rooms too small for exercise.
Beijing is attempting to hold a virus-free event in the midst of a pandemic, cutting off competitors and their teams in a bubble where tests must be taken every day, with anyone who tests positive dragged off to isolation.
But conditions in isolation are reportedly dire. Valeria Vasnetsova, a Russian biathlete, claims she was served the same inedible meal three times a day for five days in a row - and that it left her so emaciated that her 'bones [were] sticking out'.
Head of German team Dirk Schimmelpfennig also blasted 'unacceptable' conditions for his athletes, saying isolation rooms are too small, not hygienic enough, the food is poor and PCR tests that athletes must take to free themselves are not being given
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Germany's team boss has said conditions inside the isolation hotels are 'unacceptable', complaining about lack of exercise equipment, not enough Covid tests and unhygienic conditions (pictured, German Nordic combined athlete Eric Frenzel is taken into isolation after testing positive)
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Kim Meylemans, a Belgian skeleton competitor, was freed from an isolation hotel after uploading a tearful post from inside
Natalia Maliszewska, a Polish speed skater, described being repeatedly moved into and out of quarantine over successive days due to conflicting Covid test results, an experience she described as a 'trauma' that left her 'crying and crying'.
During one 'night of horror' she said officials dragged her out of bed at 3am in order to take her back to the athlete's village after ruling she was Covid-free - only to later say they made a mistake before taking her back into solitary.
'I was sitting in the ambulance. It was 3am. I was crying like crazy because I didn't know what was going on. I did not feel safe at all,' the 26-year-old said.
Finland team hotel at the Beijing Winter Olympics is flooded
Katri Lylynpera, 28, shared videos of the Finland team hotel in Beijing being flooded last Wednesday. The footage shows entire corridors being drenched in water after pouring through the light fixtures.
