Source: Big River Newspaper
On May 22, the Gansu Baiyin Mountain Marathon encountered extreme weather, and the accident has so far killed 21 people and injured many people. The Gansu Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government have set up an incident investigation team to conduct a further in-depth investigation into the cause of the incident. In this competition, there was a runner from Jiyuan, Zhang Xiaotao, who fell unconscious for two hours on the way, but was fortunately rescued by nearby villagers. On the 23rd, Zhang Xiaotao, who escaped death, told reporters about this thrilling journey, and as far as he knew, one of the runners from Zhoukou was unfortunately killed in the accident.
"This time it was really a ghost door, like a nightmare." On May 23, the reporter dialed Zhang Xiaotao's phone and mentioned the experience of this distress, and he still had palpitations. Zhang Xiaotao, from Jiyuan, Henan, is a coach at a sports club who has been running marathons for 8 years and participating in cross-country running for 5 years.
As an enthusiast, Zhang Xiaotao made a special trip to participate in the Gansu Baiyin Mountain Marathon. At 9:00 a.m. on the 22nd, the race began, and the wind was already howling when he started, but most of the runners did not expect to cool down, most of them only wore short-sleeved shorts, and he also added a thin skin coat to the upper body.
After about an hour, Zhang Xiaotao ran through the CP1 stage at about 20 kilometers, and then began a mountain climb of more than ten kilometers. "It's probably from more than 1,000 meters above sea level to more than 2,000 meters above sea level, and vehicles can't get on this road." Zhang Xiaotao said that not long after climbing upwards, the weather began to deteriorate, and the wind and rain became more and more intense.
"The environment is indescribable, it has never been so strong, the rain is not falling, but it is smashed sideways, mixed with ice slag, cutting the face like a knife." Zhang Xiaotao said that there were 4 runners near him, 3 of whom ran a few hundred meters in front of him, and he was accompanied by a runner from Guizhou who was acquainted. "The higher we went, the colder the rain became, and we kept shivering, and at first we were still holding each other, running and running and our consciousness gradually blurred, and the wind blew me down several times, and then we both scattered in the wind and rain." Zhang Xiaotao said that on the way, he had already had the idea of retiring from the race, but he had already run halfway down the mountain and the road down the mountain was even farther, so he still insisted on sticking to the punching point at the top of the mountain.
"The last time I fell, I didn't have the strength to get up, and my whole body was already stiff. I wrapped myself up in the insulation blanket distributed by the organizing committee, and then I lost consciousness. Zhang Xiaotao's personal GPS showed that the location was located at 33 kilometers, and he fainted for more than two hours.
"When I woke up, it was already in the cave of a local villager, a shepherd, who happened to pass by and rescued me. He took off my wet clothes, wrapped me up in a quilt, and made firewood next to me, and only later did I slowly regain consciousness. Zhang Xiaotao said that in the cave, there were 5 runners who rushed to avoid danger, after everyone recovered their strength, they walked down the mountain on foot, and on the evening of the 22nd, he almost did not sleep all night, and the feeling of hair tingling in his hands lasted for a long time.
"Afterwards, I received a lot of phone calls from relatives and friends, and I couldn't suppress my tears for the rest of my life, I just heard that my friend in Guizhou was killed, and this day was really the darkest day in the running circle." Zhang Xiaotao said that he has experienced a lot of cross-country running competitions, and even at an altitude of 4,000 meters, he has not encountered such extreme weather, and the runners only carry the most basic equipment such as thermal blankets and life-saving whistles, which will not help in the harsh environment. "The lesson is really too big, and in any event in the future, safety must definitely come first."
"As far as I know, there are five or six runners in Henan who participated in this cross-country running competition, and one of the 21 victims was a runner from Zhoukou, who called him 'Hua Tsai' in the circle." Zhang Xiaotao said. On the evening of May 23, Zhang Xiaotao had already boarded the train back to Henan and would return home on the 24th, and he also wrote down the phone number to rescue the villagers, preparing to take his family to express his gratitude after a while.
Comments from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection: We must thoroughly investigate!
The website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission pointed out in a commentary article on the "21 people killed in the Gansu Mountain Marathon Accident" that the specific causes of the incident and related responsibilities must be thoroughly investigated and the victims and the public should be given an explanation.
The original text is as follows:
On May 23, a shocking piece of bad news. Just the morning before, in the Yellow River Stone Forest Scenic Area of Chengtai County, Baiyin City, Gansu Province, the Yellow River Stone Forest Mountain Marathon 100-kilometer Cross-country Race held locally encountered extreme weather such as hail and freezing rain, 172 people participated in the race, and 21 people were killed. More than 10% of the runners were killed in one race, including many of the top runners of domestic marathon events.
Judging from the current situation, the extreme weather caused the temperature to drop sharply, causing the players to lose temperature, lose contact, and unfortunately die. This is a public safety incident due to a sudden change in weather in a local area. The Gansu Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government have set up an incident investigation team and are conducting an in-depth investigation. The specific causes of the incident and the relevant responsibilities must be thoroughly investigated, and an account should be given to the victims and the public. At the same time, the 21 living lives lost must also arouse sufficient warnings from all sides!
Extreme weather cannot be controlled, but high-risk sports project management supervision cannot get out of control. As an extreme sports event with a high degree of professionalism, is the organization of this competition up to standards, and is the necessary safety guarantee in place? Where the event is held, the terrain is complex, the altitude is high, and the weather is changeable, is it enough to rely on simple temperature and wind forecasts? Is there an immediate notification, judgment and early warning mechanism for weather changes in mountain tracks? After bad weather in the middle of the race, can the game be suspended in time so that the subsequent loss can be reduced to the greatest extent? These are all questions that people ask.
In cross-country events that challenge the limits, safety management is the top priority, and it should be strict and strict, fine and meticulous. According to netizens with experience in mountain cross-country sports, in mountain marathon events, warm equipment such as storm jackets is generally "mandatory equipment" and must be strictly inspected to ensure that athletes can only be allowed to participate in the race after carrying them. However, in this northwest high-altitude mountain race, the storm jacket is only "recommended equipment", and the pre-race inspection of mandatory equipment such as thermal blankets is not sufficient.
Some participants also reported that in the stage of the incident, some areas were "no man's land", vehicles could not pass, rescue forces were difficult to arrive quickly, and there was not enough supplies at the supply point. Whether such an off-road track design is reasonable, whether it is prudent, whether the rescue facilities and organizational strength, and whether it can meet the safety and security requirements need to be further verified and answered.
In recent years, various marathon events across the country have sprung up, and mountain cross-country marathons are in the ascendant. Some places value the publicity effect of holding events, coupled with the ability to stimulate regional consumption, collect corporate sponsorship fees, advertising fees, build tourism brands and other factors, and are keen to hold competitions.
However, some events tend to focus only on economic benefits and are reluctant to invest more in service and safety. Some undertaking enterprises do not have the qualifications and ability to organize high-risk sports events at all, and only attach importance to setting up awards such as high prizes to attract players to participate. Some relevant local government departments do not want to manage or will not manage in terms of guidance and supervision, and some even have serious safety hazards, which can easily lead to safety accidents.
What a tragic price to pay for the loss of 21 lives! For individuals, no amount of regret and remorse can bring them back to life. However, for the safety of more people in the future and to avoid such tragedies from happening again, reflection and questioning are absolutely necessary.
Challenging the limits and surpassing oneself is the pursuit of many sports enthusiasts, but extreme sports cannot be allowed to become a blind life adventure. Advocating the spirit of sportsmanship, the first thing is to have a reverence for sports, nature and life, to run competitions in science, and to participate in scientific competitions. Life is so precious, we must not take a chance, and we must not be contemptuous and negligent about safety.
Source: Top News Dahe Newspaper Reporter: Wang Weihao