21 Runners Killed in Chinese Ultramarathon

Twenty-one runners who were taking part in an ultramarathon in China died after extreme weather conditions, according to CNN. The marathon began on Saturday morning with sunny conditions. However, the weather changed by 1 p.m. local time with freezing rain, hailstones and gale winds in Gansu County.

One of the runners who died was Liang Jing, who was an ultramarathon veteran. A Hong Kong marathon group called Hong Kong 100 Ultra Marathon released a statement on Sunday, saying Liang has been a “favorite” member of the Hong Kong trail-racing community. The statement goes to say that Liang participated in the annual Hong Kong 100-kilometer trail race and was the runner-up the last two years.

It was reported runners started suffering from hypothermia while others are still missing. It led to marathon organizers calling off the race and launching a search party of 1,200 people which continued after dark. Janet Ng, a race director of the Hong Kong 100 Ultra Marathon, told CNN that she was not in a position to comment on the importance or safety of the Gansu marathon but stated the trail-running community is mourning.

“At one point, I couldn’t feel my fingers (because it was so cold). At the same time my tongue felt frozen, too, one running told local publication Red Star News. “I retreated back to halfway down the mountain, and entered a wooden cabin at the direction of a rescuer. There were already about 10 more runners who came down earlier and we waited for rescue in the cabin for about an hour. Eventually about 50 runners came and took shelter in the cabin.”

Another runner talked about the poor weather conditions. “My whole body was soaked through, including my shoes and socks. I couldn’t stand up straight because of the wind, I was very worried I’d be blown over. The cold became more and more unbearable,” the runner said. “While descending the mountain, I was already experiencing hypothermia symptoms.” 151 of the 172 runners have been confirmed safe as of Sunday morning with eight in the hospital. According to the state-run People’s Daily, another 21 were found dead. The Huanghe Shilin Mountain Marathon is 100 kilometers long (62 miles) which is twice the amount of a regular marathon.