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New Delhi. A section of false ceiling in the main stadium for the New Delhi Commonwealth Games fell down on Wednesday, a government official said.

“I have been informed about the ceiling collapse and I was told that data cables were to be installed there,” cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrashekhar told CNN-IBN. “We will repair it and it will be corrected now.”

CNN-IBN said the collapse was near the weightlifting area and added that there were no injuries.

On Wednesday, a footbridge under construction at the main Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium stadium collapsed, injuring 27 labourers and raising questions about the quality of construction for the long-delayed Games.

India’s chief anti-corruption body found a host of problems with building work in a July investigation, including dubious contracts and the use of poor quality materials.

The chief technical examiner from the Central Vigilance Commission inspected 15 sites around the national capital and found a number of irregularities and suspect practices by contractors and public bodies.

The incident occurred just a day after a suspension pedestrian overbridge crashed to the ground.

The chairman of England’s Commonwealth Games team said on Wednesday that problems with the athletes’ village in New Delhi had left the competition “on a knife-edge” and facing “a critical 24 to 48 hours.”

Scotland team officials have delayed the departure of their first athletes to New Delhi, having described their accommodation as “unsafe and unfit for human habitation.”

The England team management are continuing to monitor the situation.

Commonwealth Games England chairman Andrew Foster said: “I think the next 24 to 48 hours is the critical time which will tell us whether the village — which is where the main problem is now — has got enough accommodation for everybody to come into it. I think we’re at an absolutely vital time (regarding) whether the major teams go.

“Our staff have been round all 17 sports venues and they are in good order, so the key remaining feature which there’s a problem with is the village. The other problems have been resolved.

“It’s a situation that hangs on a knife-edge.”

Two high-profile English athletes — world triple jump champion Phillips Idowu and Olympic and reigning Commonwealth 400 metres champion Christine Ohuruogu — have both pulled in recent days, with Idowu citing safety concerns.

Turner admitted a substantial amount of work remained to be done at the village, but insisted a last-minute rush to the complete the facilities could still bear fruit.

“It is not certain and we will not be sending our team unless we are confident,” he said. “There still is a serious chance, if the Indian government and the organizing committee throw thousands of people at the village — which is what they quite often do in India — that this could still be salvageable.”

The New Zealand’s swimming team, meanwhile, are seeking a “Plan B” competition with other nations should the Delhi Commonwealth Games be cancelled, the organization’s performance and pathways general manager said on Wednesday.

New Zealand’s swimmers left on Wednesday for a training camp in Abu Dhabi before the Oct. 3-14 Commonwealth Games, however should the event be cancelled Swimming New Zealand’s Jan Cameron told local media an alternative competition was being discussed with other nations.

“Of course, that’s the likely scenario,” she said when asked if the Plan B involved other countries and a swim meet elsewhere.

“But at the moment none of us are willing to go down that track other than make sure in the back pocket we have a Plan B,” she told Television New Zealand.

Cameron said the plan was just discussions at this stage with Australia, Britain and Canada as they were waiting for notification from the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) as to whether the team would proceed to Delhi.

“I don’t expect it to come to that,” she told TV3 News.

Many top athletes have decided to skip next month’s troubled Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, citing fatigue, injury, security fears or other reasons.

Here is a list of major names who are eligible, but have pulled out:
Usain Bolt (JAM) - 100m and 200m world record holder.
Asafa Powell (JAM) - defending Commonwealth 100m champion
Paula Radcliffe (ENG) - marathon world record holder
Jessica Ennis (ENG) - world and European heptathlon champion
Christine Ohuruogu (ENG) - Olympic 400m gold medallist
Phillips Idowu (ENG) - world triple jump champion
Dani Samuels (AUS) - world discus champion
David Rudisha (KEN) - 800m world record holder
Asbel Kiprop (KEN) - Olympic 1500m champion
Linet Masai (KEN) - world 10,000m champion 
Shelly-Ann Fraser (JAM) - Olympic 100m champion
Chris Hoy (SCO) - multiple world and Olympic cycling champion
Victoria Pendleton (ENG) - world and Olympic cycling champion
Stephanie Rice (AUS) - triple Olympic gold medal swimmer
Andy Murray (SCO) - tennis player
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) - tennis player
Samantha Stosur (AUS) - tennis player
Beth Tweddle (ENG) - world champion gymnast


Agencies