Twenty-one people died and eight others injured in a 100-kilometre cross-country ultramarathon in China’s north-western Gansu province.
The death occurred after the runners were overtaken by extreme weather, state media reported on Sunday.
Competitors were about 20-30 kilometres into the race, in the remote and rugged Yellow River Stone Forest in Jingtai County, when they were hit by hail, freezing rain and gale force winds at around 1.00 p.m. (0500 GMT) on Saturday, state news agency Xinhua reported.
The agency said that conditions for the runners became difficult as the air temperature dropped to nearly zero degrees. Some of the 172 participants went missing and the race was halted.
Although race organisers tried to rescue some runners, only the first 24 kilometres of the course are navigable by car, according to Chinese news site The Paper.
Local authorities subsequently initiated an emergency response involving some 700 rescuers. The rescue operation concluded early on Sunday, when the last missing runner was confirmed dead, the People’s Daily reports.
Many participants became stranded during the steep and precarious ascent between checkpoints two and three, 24 to 32.5 kilometres into the high-altitude course, The Paper said.
The race began on a warm and sunny day, one participant told The Paper and weather forecasts did not predict the sharp drop in temperatures.
The dead include champion trial runner, Liang Jing, who placed first in all previous editions of the race, as well as hearing-impaired runner, Huang Guanjun, who won the marathon at the 2019 National Paralympic Games.
The mayor of Baiyin, the city responsible for organising the event, publicly apologised and conveyed his “deep sympathies” to the participants’ families.
(dpa/NAN)