COLOMBO, 18 September 2004 — Sri Lanka is trying to solve the mysterious disappearance of its “national handball team” while on tour in Germany, but it is no easy task — as the Indian Ocean island doesn’t have one.
The 23-strong “team” managed to dupe the German Embassy in Colombo into issuing visas for a month-long tour beginning on Sept. 8, acting German Ambassador Heidi Jung said on Thursday. The group vanished soon after arrival and German and Sri Lankan officials have been unable to trace them. They are legally allowed to stay until Oct. 7.
“There is no handball federation in Sri Lanka... We don’t even have a single club,” said Hemasiri Fernando, president of Sri Lanka’s Olympic Association. Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sport said it was unclear what the group’s strategy was, whether political asylum or illegal immigration.
