Dramatic moment Olympic torch bearer runs for his life as gun shots fired in Rio

GUNSHOTS sent an Olympic torch bearer sprinting for his life in a dash that would have given 100-metre sprint king Usain Bolt a run for his money.

A gangster is believed to have sent a spray of bullets into the sky as the torch relay passed close to the Complexo de Chapadao favela in northwestern Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

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The National Security Force ordered the relay team to speed up - which they did sprinting down a busy road.

A video showing the team running followed by support vehicles has been viewed more than a million times.

Locals lining the streets, waiting to see the relay, were left gobsmacked by the reaction,with many laughing as the team scarpered past in a flash.

But others said the incident has turned the country into a "laughing stock".

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The torch was in its final stages of a 125,000 mile  journey across the country.

The relay has been besieged with incidents with protesters interrupting its journey trying to grab the torch and throwing water over bearers. Police have been forced to use grenades and tear gas to secure its passage to the games, which opened last night.

 Brazil is in the midst of a crippling recession with high unemployment and rising crime and protesters have been hitting out at the multi-billion-pound cost of the games.

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