21 runners die in an Ultra marathon in China
Of the 172 people who took the exit only 151 managed to be transferred to a safe place,
As reported by mail 21 athletes have died in an ultra-distance race of 100 kilometers in China due to a cold storm.
A storm of cold, wind and hail surprised the participants in a high area of the route and the rescue teams could not transfer everyone in time.
The storm with hail, rain and strong winds caught them at dawn in a very high area of the test.
Of the 172 people who took the exit, only 151 managed to be transferred to a safe place, according to the organization, around 3 in the morning (local time).
However, 20 failed to survive the poor conditions. A runner also disappeared, who was found dead six hours later, local media report.
These victims include two national marathon veterans, Liang Jing and Huang Guanjun.
The former won several of these competitions in China in recent years. Huang, who was deaf and dumb, won the men's for the hearing impaired at the 2019 National Paralympic Games in Tianjin.
“Around noon, the high-altitude section of the 20-31km race was suddenly affected by disastrous weather conditions.
Before long, hail and freezing rain suddenly fell on the area, and there were strong winds. The temperature dropped sharply, ”explained Baiyin Mayor Zhang Xuchen.
Some of the participants called for help and a rescue team was mobilized and transported 18 of them.
At around 14 p.m., conditions worsened and the race was canceled, while local authorities sent more rescuers to the scene, he added.
In total, 700 were mobilized. "This is a public security incident caused by sudden changes in the weather in a local region," declared the authorities, who are already thoroughly investigating what happened.
There are no previous results.
