Tragedy struck in China on Saturday as 21 people are feared dead in a tragic twist to a marathon sporting event.
As reported by the New York Times, almost 2 dozens of people died during the 62 mile mountain race in the Gansu province of China over the weekend due to extreme weather. It was reported that among the casualties is Liang Jing, one time ultramarathon champion, and Huang Guanjun who is also a 2019 National Paralympics men’s marathon winner.
The race had only begun for a few hours when the weather drastically changed for the worst. It is said that hailstones and a freezing rain soon began to fall. Unfortunately, majority of the close to 200 athletes only had t-shirts and shorts on- totally unprepared for the turn of the weather.
The race was soon called off and rescue missions commenced right away, but the rescue teams encountered difficulties in reaching the athletes due to the terrain of the mountain. It was reported that a local shepherd helped bring some athletes to shelter but some others were not so fortunate.
