WorlPosted at: May 23 2021 12:06PM

Over dozen people dead in China as harsh weather interrupts mountain marathon: Reports

Beijing, May 23 (Sputnik) More than 20 people died in China’s Gansu province while participating in a 100-kilometer (62-mile) cross-country mountain marathon, media report.
"At around noon, the high-altitude section of the race between 20-31km was suddenly affected by disastrous weather. In a short period of time, hailstones and ice rain suddenly fell in the local area, and there were strong winds. The temperature sharply dropped," Baiyin city mayor, Zhang Xuchen, said as quoted by The Guardian on Sunday.
Zhang Xuchen confirmed that the tragic deaths were caused by sudden changes in the weather, but said that local authorities will investigate the incident further.
CCTV reported on Sunday that the Saturday race, held at the Yellow River Stone Forest tourist site in Jingtai County, which is under the administration of Baiyin City, left at least 20 dead, while one person remained missing. The Beijing-based CGTN TV said that five people were missing while 16 had died.
The Guardian reported citing Baiyin officials on Sunday that 21 people died, while eight others were injured.
According to Chinese media reports, there was hail and strong winds in the mountains of Gansu on Saturday. The mountain race, which had 172 people participating, was halted when runners started to feel unwell. Hundreds of people were involved in the search and rescue operation.
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