FIRE SHOCK

A MASSIVE fire has broken out at an Olympic stadium as the roof burns in a bizarre way “similar to a spider’s web”.

Rio’s Olympic velodrome was ablaze for the third time in eight years on Wednesday morning with apocalyptic images showing the roof engulfed in flames.

Emergency services raced to the stadium at Olympic Park around 4.17am to find half of the roof destroyed.

About 80 firefighters with 20 trucks battled the inferno as black plumes of smoke rose across the city.

Authorities said the fire was largely confined to the canvas fabric roof.

Rio’s fire department said there was no internal damage to the velodrome.

“We avoided a major tragedy ,” they stated. “We don’t know the cause, only the forensic investigation can determine that, but it’s a fact that it started on the outside, on the canvas.”

“The velodrome’s roof was entirely made of synthetic material. This canvas melted and released a material very similar to a spider web.”

Fortunately no injuries have been reported and the fire is now under control.

The cause is being investigated.

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere told the BBC a preliminary assessment had found the track suffered no damage.

“It remains intact and well-preserved. Obviously, it will need to be cleaned and undergo some form of maintenance before we can announce that the velodrome is back in operation,” he said.

Great Britain won six gold medals at the velodrome during the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Just one year later, the stadium suffered a major fire after being struck by a falling sky lantern.

The 2017 incident saw the fire burn through the roof and completely scorch one bend of the pine track.

A similar incident occurred only months later.

The 5,000-seat arena was the source of controversy before the Games, with the Siberian pine track stuck in transit as it was shipped half-way across the world.

And then construction staff had to rush to get the circuit ready for the Olympics themselves, after it was laid with only weeks to go before the flame was lit.

It has since been the main training venue for the Brazilian national cycling and weightlifting teams, Bild reported.

It also houses the Olympic Museum which features exhibits and artefacts from the Games. — Sun.