‘I thought the sun symbol meant it was cooling down mode,’ said the sheepish Winter Olympics volunteer, who has since been dismissed.
A Japanese figure skating duo are balancing precariously on top of a rapidly shrinking block of ice after a volunteer turned on the stadium’s heater by accident.
Min-Jun, a 26 year-old former volunteer at the 2018 Winter Olympics, got confused when his supervisor told him to ‘adjust the air-conditioning’ at the Gangneung Ice Arena. He somehow turned the system from cooling to heating mode, consequently melting the ice on which the competitors were skating.
A rescue effort is now underway to retrieve the Japanese duo, who are holding on for dear life atop a chunk of ice that seems to be getting smaller by the second.
‘We really dropped the ball on this one,’ admitted Games organiser Joel Pryor, when questioned about the unfolding drama.
‘There’s no reason why the heater should have been turned on at an ice skating event.
‘Ice begins to melt when exposed to temperatures above zero degrees Celsius. Min-Jun cranked that bad boy right up to 22.
‘It’s inexcusable.’
The Japanese figure skating partners may or may not perish as a result of this unfortunate accident. Fingers crossed they make it out alive.