Glasgow: An athlete from Sierra Leone has reportedly vanished from the athletes village in Glasgow after failing to turn up for his event at the Commonwealth Games on Thursday.

The west African country's mountain bike riding champion Mohamed Tholley, 25, was scheduled to race in the time trial on Thursday and then the road race on Saturday but did not appear at the start line.

The London Daily Telegraph reported that Tholley's room key was later found in his hotel room. Sierra Leone's chef de mission in Glasgow, Unisa Deen Kargbo, told the newspaper that he may have disappeared to avoid returning to his home country, where an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus led to the declaration of a state of emergency on Thursday.

“Unfortunately one of our athletes has not turned up for his event and we do not know where he is. It is possible he is not coming back," he said.

“The situation is very serious at home, and it is possible this is why he does not want to return. It is very bad there.