Tragedy in China: 21 athletes died of hypothermia …

Twenty-one people died in China on Sunday as they competed in a 100-kilometer mountain race, due to hypothermia, after being in the midst of a hostile climate, which involved hail, freezing rain and high winds.

According to official information, the 172 people who were part of the ultralight race “Stone Forest of the Yellow River 100,000 “, which started on Saturday morning in northwest China’s Gansu province, they must have made the trip to a mountainous area along narrow high trails.

However, the trajectory was interrupted after some runners showed signs of hypothermia and physical problems following the sudden drop in temperatures in a high altitude area. According to the local press, “affected by hail, freezing rain and hurricane-force winds, occurred in the stone forest area of ​​the Yellow River, some of the participants have disappeared“and later, rescue teams found 20 dead.

The last fatal victim was found overnight, as a further drop in temperatures in the area made search tasks difficult.

The deceased included two national marathon veterans, Liang Jing and Huang Guanjun. Liang has won several marathons in China in recent years. Huang, who was deaf and mute, won the men’s marathon for the hearing impaired at the 2019 National Paralympic Games in Tianjin.

In an official statement, the Chinese government said that the remaining 151 participants were “safe”, although eight of them suffered minor injuries for which they received medical treatment and are stable.