In China, 21 people die in a marathon. A sudden storm surprises them.
Beijing – During a 100-kilometer run in China, 21 people were killed in a sudden storm. During the ultra marathon in the north-western province of Gansu, a thunderstorm with heavy hail, freezing rain and gusts of wind had broken, the city council of Baiyin said on Sunday. Local media reported that top Chinese long-distance runners were among the dead.
According to the state news agency Xinhua, more than 700 rescue workers were on duty. According to Xinhua, the storm broke on Saturday afternoon after participants walked between 20 and 31 kilometers through mountainous areas. The race was stopped immediately. 151 participants were brought to safety. Xinhua reported that some of the runners suffered from hypothermia. Until the very end, the rescuers had been looking for a missing participant who could only be recovered dead.
China: “The temperature has fallen sharply” – 21 people die in the marathon
“In a short time, hailstones and freezing rain suddenly fell in the area and there was a strong wind. The temperature has dropped a lot, ”said Zhang Xuchen, Baiyin mayor. Eight people had been treated in the hospital for minor injuries, but were in stable condition.
Video recordings showed rescue workers using flashlights to climb through the rocky terrain at night. Some marathon participants, wrapped in heavy blankets, were filmed as they were placed on a stretcher by rescuers. “My whole body was soaked, including my shoes and socks. The cold became more and more unbearable, ”one survivor told the local media.
China: top marathon runners among the dead
According to the media, the victims included top local marathon runners Liang Jing and Huang Guanjun. Liang had won several Chinese ultramarathons in the past few years. Huang, who was deaf and dumb, won the men’s marathon for the hearing impaired at the 2019 National Paralympic Games in Tianjin.
The ultramarathon took place in the stone forest on the Yellow River, a mountain landscape famous for its stone formations. Gansu Province, one of the poorest regions in China, borders Mongolia to the north and Xinjiang Province to the west. (AFP)
