Cyclist killed by official Games bus on road near Olympic Park

A cyclist died last night after being knocked down by what police described as an "Olympic bus" on the border of the Games site.

The man, believed to be 30 years old, was struck by the vehicle in Ruckholt Road at the junction of the A12 in Hackney, east London, at about 7.40pm. Air ambulance doctors pronounced him dead at the scene at 8.14pm.

According to reports, the man was seen beneath the double-decker bus with a "mangled" racing bike lying nearby. A group of about 30 soldiers who had been carrying out security duties at the Olympic Park ran to the scene, where traffic soon built up and caused long tailbacks.

The collision happened close to the Olympic hockey centre, velodrome and Paralympic tennis arena. The Olympic shuttle buses ferry the thousands of journalists covering the Games between the Olympic Park in Stratford and their hotels in central London. A spokesman for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games said it was working with the police but would not further comment on the collision last night.

"The cyclist, a man believed to be approximately 30 years old, was pronounced dead at the scene. The collision is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police's Traffic Investigation Unit," Scotland Yard.

No arrests have been made in connection with the death.