Another 151 participants were confirmed safe, of which eight with minor injuries were treated in the hospital.
It was a public safety incident caused by a sudden change in local weather, and the province had set up a special team to further investigate the cause of the incident, said Zhang Xuchen, mayor of Baiyin city, yesterday morning.
The marathon race was held on Saturday morning in the Yellow River Stone Forest tourist site in Jingtai county, Baiyin city.
According to the rescue headquarters, at about 1pm on Saturday, hails, freezing rain and gales hit the area.
Participants suffered from physical discomfort and loss of temperature due to the sudden drop in air temperature.
CHINA / SOCIETY
By Global Times Published: May 24, 2021 10:02 AM
Runners compete in the Quzhou Marathon in November 2020 in Quzhou, East China s Zhejiang Province. A total of 12,000 people took part in the marathon in the morning rain. Photo: Cui Meng/GT
China s top sports governing body on Sunday asked the country s sports system to further enhance safety management in sports races and optimize safety risk management mechanisms and measures, following the tragic death of 21 participants in an ultramarathon race in Northwest China s Gansu Province due to extreme weather and lack of emergency preparation.
China s General Administration of Sport issued the instructions in an emergency meeting on Sunday evening to address the recent incidents in sports activities, particularly the one that occurred at the Gansu marathon, China Central Television reported on Monday.
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At least 21 ultramarathon athletes died after brutal weather swept across a mountainous area of northwest China during the Huanghe Shilin Mountain Marathon, state media reported Sunday.
An additional 151 participants in the 62-mile race in Baiyin City in Gansu Province were accounted for, and eight people were hospitalized in stable condition, local rescue headquarters reported.
The officials cited a sudden, dramatic change in the weather during Saturday s race in the Yellow River Stone Forest. At about 1 p.m., hail, freezing rain and gales hit the area of the race s high-altitude stage as runners were climbing 6,500 feet above sea level in shorts and T-shirts.
BEIJING: Twenty-one people were killed when extremely cold weather struck during an ‘ultramarathon’ in rugged Gansu province in northwestern China, sparking public outrage on Sunday over the lack of contingency planning.
The 100-km (62-mile) race began on Saturday from a scenic area at a bend in the Yellow River known for its sheer cliffs and rock columns. The route would take runners through canyons and hills on an arid plateau at an elevation of over 1,000 metres (3,300 feet).
The race kicked off 9am with runners clad in t-shirts and shorts under overcast skies, according to photographs posted on the social media account of the Yellow River Stone Forest area in Jingtai, a county under the jurisdiction of Baiyin city.
China probes deaths of 21 marathon runners in freak weather
published : 24 May 2021 at 11:45 Rescuers were dispatched after extreme weather struck a high-altitude section of the 100-kilometre (62-mile) race held in the scenic Yellow River Stone Forest in Gansu province.
BEIJING: An investigation was underway Monday into the deaths of 21 runners during a mountain ultramarathon in northwest China, as harrowing testimony emerged from survivors who battled to safety through freezing temperatures and bone-chilling winds.
The extreme weather struck a high-altitude section of the 100-kilometre (62-mile) race held in the scenic Yellow River Stone Forest in Gansu province Saturday afternoon.
Provincial authorities have set up an investigation team to look into the cause of the incident, state media reported, as questions swirled over why organisers apparently ignored extreme weather warnings from the city s Early Warning Information