The local government officials confirmed the news on Sunday, May 23, 2021.
According to the officials, the extremely cold weather struck during a 100km cross-country running race on Saturday (May 22) in Chinaâs northwestern Gansu province, one of Chinaâs poorest regions that borders Mongolia to the north and Xinjiang to the west.
The race was held on Saturday morning in the Yellow River Stone Forest, a scenic tourist site in Jingtai county under the jurisdiction of Baiyin.
According to AP report, out of 172 people who joined the race, 151 are confirmed to be safe, 20 dead and one was missing as of 1 p.m. Saturday.
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This May 22, 2021, photo shows rescuers carrying equipment as they search for runners who were competing in a 100-kilometer cross-country mountain race when extreme weather hit the area, leaving at least 21 dead, near the city of Baiyin, China. AFP
Harsh weather kills 21 runners in Gansu, China ultramarathon
Mon, 24 May 2021
Twenty-one people were killed after hail, freezing rain and high winds hit runners taking part in a 100km cross-country mountain race in China, state media said on May 23.
The extreme weather struck a high-altitude section of the race held in the scenic Yellow River Stone Forest near Baiyin city in northwestern Gansu province on May 22 afternoon.
Extreme weather kills 21 ultra-marathon runners
Jenni Marsh and Eric Cheung, CNN
Updated at
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(CNN) Twenty one ultra-marathon runners have died after extreme weather conditions hit a 100-kilometer (62-mile) mountain race in northwest China.
The high-altitude Huanghe Shilin Mountain Marathon began on Saturday morning in sunny conditions. But by 1 p.m. local time weather conditions had turned, with freezing rain, hail stones and gale winds lashing runners in Gansu County, according to the state-run Global Times.
Liang Jing, one of China’s well-known ultra-marathon runners, was among those who died, a Hong Kong marathon group called Hong Kong 100 Ultra Marathon confirmed via a statement released on Sunday.
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Twenty-one runners died during an ultramarathon in China’s Gansu Province on May 22 when severe weather, which was reportedly unforeseen, swept across the course at high altitude.
A search-and-rescue mission was deployed, and over 151 people were rescued.
Local Chinese authorities have promised an investigation into the runners’ deaths.
Twenty-one runners died while racing an ultramarathon in northwestern China when severe weather hit the course during the race.
On Saturday, May 22, 172 runners started the Yellow River Stone Forest 100K, a high-altitude race that ran between 6,500 and 9,800 feet in the Yellow River Stone Forest tourist site in the Gansu province, near the city of Baiyin. As the runners spread throughout the mountains into the high altitude section, hail, freezing rain, and gale-force winds swept across the course, causing the temperatures to plummet, according to state media Xinhua News Agency.