21 killed as extreme cold weather hits 100km race in China

BEIJING • Twenty-one runners were killed when extreme cold weather struck during an ultramarathon in rugged Gansu province in north-western China, sparking public outrage yesterday over the lack of contingency planning.

The 100km race began on Saturday from a scenic area at a bend in the Yellow River known for its sheer cliffs and rock columns.

The route would take runners through canyons and hills on an arid plateau at an elevation of over 1,000m. The race kicked off at 9am with runners clad in T-shirts and shorts under overcast skies, according to photographs posted on the social media account of the Yellow River Stone Forest area in Jingtai, a county under the jurisdiction of Baiyin city.

Around noon on Saturday, a mountainous section of the race was hit by hail, freezing rain and gale that caused temperatures to plummet, officials from Baiyin told a news briefing yesterday.

"The rain was getting heavier and heavier," said Ms Mao Shuzhi, who was about 24km into the race at the time. Shivering in the cold, she turned back before the high-altitude section due to previous bad experiences with hypothermia.

"At first I was a bit regretful, thinking it might have just been a passing shower, but when I saw the strong winds and rain later through my hotel room window, I felt so lucky that I made the decision," Ms Mao told Reuters.

A massive rescue effort was initiated with over 1,200 rescuers dispatched, assisted by thermal-imaging drones, radar detectors and demolition equipment, according to state media. A landslide following the severe weather also hampered the rescue work, said officials from Baiyin, about 1,000km west of Beijing.

The race saw 172 people taking part. By yesterday, 151 participants had been confirmed safe. A last missing runner was found dead at 9.30am yesterday, bringing the death toll to 21, state media reported.

Jingtai county saw a low of 6 deg C on Saturday, excluding wind chill. Baiyin and Jingtai were expected to see moderate to strong winds from Friday night through Saturday, according to the China Meteorological Administration in Beijing late on Friday. A separate report on the website of provincial weather services on Thursday predicted a "significant" drop in temperature in most parts of Gansu , including Baiyin , through yesterday.

"It was very hot one day before the race, and although the weather forecast said there would be wind and moderate rain in Baiyin on Saturday, everybody believed it would be mild," Ms Mao said. "It's dry in north-western China."

The deaths sparked public outrage on Chinese social media, with anger mainly directed at the Baiyin government and unhappiness over the lack of contingency planning.

"Why didn't the government read the weather forecast and do a risk assessment?" one commentator wrote. "This is totally a man-made calamity. Even if the weather is unexpected, where were the contingency plans?"

At the news briefing, Baiyin officials bowed and apologised, saying they were saddened by the tragic deaths of the runners and that they were to be blamed.

"The wind is too strong, our thermal blankets have been torn to bits," a runner wrote in a WeChat chatroom to which Ms Mao belonged. Many of the runners had suffered from hypothermia and had lost their way in the strong winds and heavy rain, according to screenshots taken by Ms Mao of the messages in the chatroom.

"A few are unconscious and are foaming at the mouth,"another runner wrote.

The Gansu provincial government has set up an investigation team to look into the cause of the deaths, the People's Daily reported.

REUTERS