Rio Olympics 2016: Severed leg found floating near sailing course

Residents of Governador Island, which sits in the bay near the start of the Olympic sailing races, found the leg that had been severed at the hip. Photo / AP

A severed limb was spotted this week floating not far from the Olympics sailing venue in Rio de Janeiro's Guanabara Bay.

According to the Independent, residents of Governador Island, which sits in the bay just a few miles from the start of the sailing races, found the leg that had been severed at the hip on Sunday.

"It was probably someone murdered by the drugs gangs, who was dumped in one of the rivers that flow into the bay," a police source told the Daily Mail this week.

Police say they are doubtful they'll be able to identify the person the leg once belonged to, despite the appearance of a tattoo that read "Kauan" on the leg's calf.

"It is very common to find body parts in the Guanabara Bay," the police source told the Daily Mail.

In June, mutilated body parts washed up on the shores of Rio de Janeiro's popular Copacabana Beach, where the Olympic beach volleyball competitions were held.

Crime has been one of the unavoidable story lines of the Rio Olympics, which have seen at least three athletes get robbed, including one at gun point.

[Aussie swimmer robbed of $1,000 in Rio, then banned from Closing Ceremonies for partying]

Meanwhile, another set of athletes appeared to take advantage or Rio's rough reputation by telling a story about an armed robbery that the city's police say never happened. U.S. swimmers Ryan Lochte, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen, have been accused of fabricating their story to cover up a scuffle they had with security personnel at a Rio gas station on Sunday.