US swimmers who were with Ryan Lochte at time of 'robbery' have been stopped from leaving Brazil

Two US swimmers who were with Ryan Lochte on the night he claimed he was robbed have been removed from a flight by Brazilian authorities as they tried to leave Rio.

Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger were taken off the plane, which was due to fly back to the US on Wednesday night (local time).

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The athletes walk back inside Rio International Airport after being pulled from the flight. Photo: Globo.com

The men were escorted into a police station. Photo: Globo.com

The athletes were with Lochte on the night he initially claimed he was robbed at gunpoint, a statement that was denied by Brazilian police.

However, according to NBC, Lochte has since changed his story after an interview with reporter Matt Lauer.

Lochte is reportedly "no longer saying a gun was put to his head, nor that they were pulled over."

Instead, he told NBC that the swimmers had a gun pointed "in their direction" when they emerged from a petrol station rest room.

Lochte reportedly said he and the others tried to get into a taxi, only for the driver to prevent them from getting in.

“We wouldn’t make a story up. We’re victims in this,” Lochte reportedly told Lauer.

Lauer said the swimmer had altered parts of his story, but the guts of it remained true.

“He did (tweak his story),” Lauer said. “He stuck to most of the story. He did change one thing."

“He didn’t say he was pulled over by these people pretending to be police.”

"He now says they were ambushed after using a gas station restroom."

Authorities are reportedly still searching for another US swimmer, James Feigen.

"We don't know his whereabouts," state police commissioner Alexandre Braga has told 7 News.

When asked if he had confidence Fiegen would come forward, Braga said he was "hopeful."

"I don't have confidence," he said. "I have an expectation and hope he will come forward."

Braga declined to comment on suggestions that Fiegen was effectively on the run.

"I have little to say about that," he said.

Braga confirmed that Bentz and Conger were currently with a civil police unit at the airport, being interviewed.

"They will be released over night," he said. "They have had their passports temporarily confiscated by a court order."

Initial reports said the court order would only apply to Feigen.

"When we found out the other two [athletes] were about to leave the country on a plane, the judiciary understood it was best for the criminal procedure to keep them in the country," Braga explained.

Braga refused to comment on recent suggestions that the robbery did not actually take place.

However, he confirmed to 7 News that the police do have access to "some evidence" and were "collecting some more."

Authorities question Lochte mugging. Pic: Getty.

Lochte won gold in the men's 4x200m relay. Photo: Getty

Braga said the United States and its diplomats were coooperating "to the full extent they were able" with the process.

When asked if it was justified to pull Olympic gold medal winning athletes from a plane, Braga was quite pragmatic.

"There was a court order," he said. "Court orders have to be followed."

According to Associated Press, the athletes will not be allowed to leave Brazil until they testify about the robbery.

Earlier, a statement from the United States Olympic Committee confirmed the men were still in Rio.

"We can confirm that Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz were removed from their flight to the United States by Brazilian authorities. We are gathering further information."

Lochte originally claimed he was help up by muggers posing as police officers after he left a late night party with three teammates.

His statement was met with disbelief from authorities, leading a Brazilian judge to order Lochte's passport be seized.

But, according to Lochte's lawyer, the gold medal-winning swimmer is already back in the United States.

Reports of the incident were immediately plunged into confusion when the International Olympic Committee denied that anything had happened.

Lochte, however, previously gave interviews describing the supposed robbery in detail and Brazilian Olympic authorities later issued a public apology.

Lochte said he had a gun put to his forehead in the robbery, when the swimmers' taxi was pulled over by criminals who forced them to lie on the ground and stole money and other items.

"The guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, 'Get down,'" Lochte said afterward. "He took our money, he took my wallet, he left my cell phone, he left my credentials."

Lochte told NBC he had a gun put to his forehead during the robbery. Photo: NBC

Jack Conger (left) and Gunnar Bentz were removed from a plane headed for the US. Photos: Getty/AAP

However, Olympic officials have said police are still looking for key witnesses, including the driver of the cab the swimmers said they had been in. Police on Wednesday yet again issued an appeal for the driver to contact them.

And Blank's office said the judge was probing "possible inconsistencies in the swimmers' stories".

These included different accounts of how many assailants there were.

Another point raising doubts over the swimmers' stories was their behavior, caught on security cameras, as they returned to their hotel after the supposed robbery, the judge said.

"It's noticeable that the victims arrived back physically and mentally unshaken, even joking with each other," the judge said.

The video in question, posted on Britain's Daily Mail tabloid website, shows the four swimmers passing through an X-ray machine, taking what could be wallets or mobile phones from their pockets.

At one moment Lochte playfully hits a team mate with his Olympic accreditation.

News break – August 18