Twenty-one had died, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, which said the runners suffered from physical discomfort and the sudden drop in temperature. Marathons and extreme sports have seen a surge in popularity among China's middle class in recent years.BEIJING (AP) - Twenty-one people running a mountain ultramarathon have died in northwestern China after hail, freezing rain and gale-force winds hit the high-altitude race, state media reported Sunday.Īfter an all-night rescue operation in freezing temperatures involving more than 700 personnel, rescuers were able to confirm that 151 people were safe, out of a total of 172 participants. Deadly floods and landslides have hit the province in the past, and it is also prone to earthquakes. Gansu, one of China's poorest regions, borders Mongolia to the north and Xinjiang to the west. Yellow River Stone Forest is famous for its rugged mountain scenery marked by stone stalagmites and pillars. ![]() Temperatures in the mountainous terrain dropped further overnight, Xinhua said, making search and rescue "more difficult". "While descending the mountain, I was already experiencing hypothermia symptoms." The cold became more and more unbearable," one survivor was quoted as saying in local media. ![]() I couldn't stand up straight because of the wind, I was very worried I'd be blown over. ![]() "My whole body was soaked through, including my shoes and socks. Some marathon runners were wrapped in blankets and put on stretchers. Video footage broadcast on state media showed rescue personnel in combat fatigues carrying torches as they climbed the rocky terrain at night. Mr Zhang said earlier that eight people were being treated for minor injuries in hospital and were in a stable condition. State news agency Xinhua reported that some of the runners suffered from hypothermia. Huang won the men's hearing-impaired marathon at the 2019 National Paralympic Games held in Tianjin. Liang had won several Chinese ultramarathons in recent years. The victims included top domestic marathon runners Liang Jing and Huang Guanjun, local media reported, citing a friend of Huang's and Wei Pulong, Liang's coach. The race was called off as weather conditions worsened at around 2pm, and local authorities sent out more rescuers, Mr Zhang said. The temperature sharply dropped," he said.Īfter receiving messages seeking help, marathon organisers sent out a rescue team that assisted 18 of the 172 competitors. "In a short period of time, hailstones and ice rain suddenly fell in the local area, and there were strong winds. "This suggests that this incident caused 21 deaths in total," CCTV said.Ĭity officials had confirmed 20 deaths and one person missing earlier on Sunday.īaiyin city mayor Zhang Xuchen said a section of the ultramarathon course between 20-31 kilometres was "suddenly affected by disastrous weather" at around midday. State broadcaster CCTV on Sunday reported the final missing competitor had been found having "already lost their vital signs". The extreme weather hit a high-altitude section of the race held in the Yellow River Stone Forest, near Baiyin city, in north-western Gansu province, on Saturday afternoon.Īmong the dead were elite Chinese long-distance runners, local media reported. Twenty-one people were killed after hail, freezing rain and high winds hit runners taking part in a 100-kilometre cross-country mountain race in China.
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