At least 21 people died of cold during a mountain race disputed this Saturday in a tourist area of the northern Chinese province of Gansu, local press reports today.
The race, in which the 172 participants had to cover more than 100 kilometers cross-country in a mountainous area, was interrupted after some of them showed signs of hypothermia and physical problems. after the sudden drop in temperatures in an area of high altitude.
Affected by hail, icy rain and gales around 1pm local time (05am GMT) yesterday, some of them disappeared.
Rescue equipmentt confirmed the deaths of up to 20 of the runners around 08.00 local time (00.00 GMT) this Sunday.
Two hours later, rescue work was completed, which lasted for almost 24 hours with the participation of about 1,200 troops and culminated in the finding the body of the last missing runner, which raised the final death toll to 21.
Information provided by the local government indicates that 151 of the participants are safe, although eight of them suffered minor injuries for which they have received medical treatment, and are stable.
According to rescuers, the main problem was that temperatures they dropped to about zero degrees Celsius while the runners wore thin garments that did not protect them from the cold at an altitude of about 2,000 meters above sea level.
One of the participants, quoted by the news portal Sixth Tone, points out that the previous day’s weather reports they had not foreseen the extreme weather conditions, which surprised the athletes.
The provincial authorities they have opened an investigation on this subject, while the mayor of Baiyin city, who has been organizing the event for four years, expressed “a deep sense of guilt and remorse” while he conveyed his condolences to the families of the dead.
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