What happened in the tragic ultramarathon in which 21 runners died in China

Nail ultramarathon which ended in tragedy. The participants of a 100 kilometers of racing organized in China had been informed that there would be wind and rain, but nothing as extreme as what they experienced.

The competition started on Saturday on the left at least 21 participants killedincluding famous ultramarathoners Liang Jing and Huang Guanjun, who were two of China’s top competitors.

The race was stopped when some of the 172 participants disappeared, which led to a major rescue operation. The government of Gansu province has been severely criticized for its lack of planning.

The race started at 9:00 a.m. local time on Saturday in Gansu, northern China. About three hours after the start of the competition, the section in a mountainous part was affected by hail, heavy rains and gales, causing temperatures to drop rapidly, according to officials in the nearby town of Baiyin.

Many runners were caught in bad weather and suffered from hypothermia and missed due to poor visibility. The hallway Zhang Xiaotao, who was part of the peloton that led the race, reported on the social network Weibo: “I hit SOS on my GPS tracker, then passed out.”

“I lay unconscious on the mountain for about two and a half hours until a shepherd passed by and took me to a cave. He lit a fire and wrapped me in a blanket. And after about an hour, I woke up (…) I am very grateful to the person who saved me, because without him, I would still be lying there ”, he added. , according to the agency. Reuters.

An unidentified broker, quoted by the press service The blanket, describes that the storm felt like “bullets in the face.” In part of the mountain, the land offered few places for shelter. The rain really hurt and the winds were so strong you could only squint your eyes, ”he said.

Authorities have launched a massive search operation, with more than 1,200 rescuers assisted by drones equipped with thermal sensors, according to state media. But efforts were unsuccessful for at least 21 runners who were pronounced dead.

Liang jing, affectionately known as “God Liang” or “General Liang”, was among the deceased. According to photographs taken at the start of the race, the runner He was only wearing shorts, a thin jacket and a cap.

By the time rescuers found him, he was no longer showing vital signs. Huang Guanjun, 34, was known to have won the hearing impaired men’s marathon at the 2019 China National Paralympic Games. “He is deaf and cannot speak, couldn’t even ask for help“Said a friend, according to The blanket.

The incident sparked public outrage on Chinese social media, mostly against the Baiyin government for the lack of career planning. “As the organizers of the event, we are filled with guilt and regret. We express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and injured, ”the mayor said at a press conference on Sunday. Zhang Xuchen.

Runner Zhang joined in the criticism: “The organizer I should have had service people in the hard part of the route, or having deployed more rescuers. They should also have established mandatory standards for runners to wear outdoor jackets. “, he expressed.

BBC Mundo