Six athletes from Sierra Leone who have been granted temporary visas in Australia say they fear for their lives if they are returned to the troubled west African nation.

The immigration department has granted the three women and three men bridging visas after they took a train from Melbourne, where they had been competing in the Commonwealth Games, to Sydney last week.

Eight other Sierra Leone team members remain unaccounted for.

One of the Sierra Leone athletes granted a visa, 19-year-old Hassan Fullah, said on Monday he feared being killed like his 12-year-old brother if he was forcibly returned.

"Before I came to these Commonwealth Games I was captured ... I was beaten seriously and my little brother was killed," he told ABC TV.

He said the women would have their genitals ritually mutilated if they returned.

"Some ladies here, they are forcing them for female circumcision ... they are forcing them seriously," he said.

Another athlete, 19-year-old Marion Banguru, said she did not wish to return to her home country.

"It was very hard - everywhere we are hiding," she said.

Refugee advocate David Addington, who with David and Rosemary Ashton assisted the six after they arrived in Sydney, said the stories stacked up.

"These stories are strong and compelling, particularly the girls'," he said.

"They face female mutilation when they go home. Two of them have sisters who haemorrhaged to death after being mutilated.

"It's a common practice. Their aunts are the ones who are likely to do it to them.

"They have both been told when they get home they are next."

Mr Addington said the athletes faced recriminations, whipped up by government propaganda, if they were returned.

"The headlines are along the lines 'You wait until you come home - we'll make you pay'," Mr Addington said.

The six were interviewed by immigration officials over four hours after they voluntarily turned themselves into Manly police when their visas expired.

David Ashton said the expiry of the visas caught him by surprise, as he thought they had until late April to seek legal advice and consult immigration experts.

A spokesman for the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) said the group could now lawfully stay in the community, subject to some reporting conditions, to allow them time to make further visa applications.

Their bridging visas expire on April 13.

Meanwhile, nine Cameroon athletes were reported missing on Monday morning, along with a Tanzanian boxer and a Bangladeshi runner.

Cameroon's chef de mission reported his athletes missing to police at the temporary police station at the village about 6pm (AEDT) on Sunday, two hours before the Games closing ceremony began.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP