Twenty-one people have lost their lives while competing in a cross-country mountain marathon race in northwest China.
Xinhua news agency in China released a report that the extreme weather had hail, with gale-force winds and freezing rain, causing the abrupt and deathly drop of temperature on Saturday afternoon.
Seven hundred rescuers spread out through the night and searched for the five individuals in the original list of people missing.
It took many hours to find their bodies and only were found in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
The cross-country race’s point of origin was at the Yellow River Stone Forest. A well-known Baiyin City, Gansu province tourist site.
The runners who joined the race were wearing shirts and shorts.
As they continue with the race, they noticed that people are missing and had to be stopped.
The total number of racers who joined in the event were 172, and 151 are confirmed safe. Eight individuals have endured minor injuries and provided with proper treatment at the hospital.
Zhang Xuchen, Baiyin’s mayor, was the organizer for the event. He shared his apology publicly, saying:
“We express deep condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and the injured.”
