Police in Washington, D.C., have received reports that two of the six Burundi teenagers who went missing after an international robotics competition were seen crossing the border into Canada.

The search for all the teens is ongoing, but police have no indication of foul play in their disappearance, Metropolitan Police spokeswoman Aquita Brown said.

The teens seen crossing into Canada were Don Ingabire, 16, and Audrey Mwamikazi, 17, Brown said.

There was no official indication Thursday that either teen was trying to avoid returning to homes in Africa, but a leader in the Burundian community in the U.S. suggested the two may be intending to seek asylum. Immigration attorneys said an asylum application could take years to sort out.

Police tweeted fliers Wednesday asking for help finding all of the six missing teens, who had last been seen at the FIRST Global Challenge a day earlier.

In total, two 17-year-old girls, Mwamikazi and Nice Munezero. and four males — Richard Irakoze and Aristide Irambona, both 18; Kevin Sabumukiza, 17; and Ingabire, 16 — are missing.

The Burundi Embassy in Washington does not know where the teens are, and had no further information on the two allegedly spotted heading to Canada, according to one official.

"We cannot confirm that these teens crossed the border. We have seen the story and are following closely," Benjamin Manirakiza said in a statement to CBC News.

"We were not aware that the teens were in Washington."

The robotics competition, designed to encourage youths to pursue careers in math and science, attracted teams of teenagers from more than 150 nations.

A squad of girls from Afghanistan drew the most attention after they were twice rejected for U.S. visas and President Donald Trump intervened.

Competition organizers learned Tuesday night that the team's mentor couldn't find the six students who participated in the competition and FIRST president Joe Sestak made the initial call to the police, according to a statement from the organization.

A soldier guards a deserted street in Bujumbura, Burundi. in December 2015. The east African nation has faced sporadic violence in recent years. (Associated Press)

"Security of the students is of paramount importance to FIRST Global," organizers said, noting that they ensure students get to their dormitories after the competition by providing safe transportation to students staying at Trinity Washington University. The students "are always to be under close supervision of their adult mentor and are advised not to leave the premises unaccompanied by the mentor."

The mentor said the teens travelled from Burundi for the competition and have one-year visas, according to police reports. The mentor said they disappeared after the competition, but he doesn't know where they went. The reports say police tried to contact one missing teen's uncle but got no response.

The competition's web page about Team Burundi shows the six team members posing with a flag and says team members were selected from schools in Bujumbura, the capital city. The team's slogan in Kirundi is "Ugushaka Nugushobora," which translates roughly to, "Where there is a will, there is a way."

Seeking asylum?

Oscar Niyiragira, chair of the United Burundian-American Community Association Inc., was not at all surprised to hear that some of the teens were heading to Canada. He had no direct knowledge of their situation, but assumed they were seeking asylum, and many in the community feel the odds are better in Canada, especially now that the Trump administration has taken a harsh stance on immigration.

He called the teens' departure disappointing. He said that economic impoverishment, rather than political persecution, is the driving force in most people's decision to seek asylum from Burundi, and he said it unfairly tarnishes Burundi's reputation when people flee and exaggerate the fears of political violence.

"Now I'm not saying the government does not commit some crimes. They do," said Niyiragira, who lives in Louisville, Ky. But the situation in Burundi is not nearly as bad as it was in waves of violence in the '70s and the '90s, he said.

Burundi, an East African nation of about 10 million people who speak the local Kirundi language and French, has faced sporadic violence in recent years.