According to CCTV, on the morning of May 22, the 2021 (fourth) Yellow River Stone Forest Mountain Marathon 100-kilometer cross-country race and rural revitalization health run hosted by Gansu Baiyin Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government and undertaken by Jingtai County was held in the Yellow River Stone Forest Scenic Area, with nearly 10,000 people participating in the race and health run. Among them, 172 participants participated in the 100-kilometer cross-country race, which encountered extreme weather.
As of 8 a.m. on May 23, 151 of the 172 participants in the 100-kilometer cross-country race have been confirmed to be safe, and 8 of them have been treated in hospitals with minor injuries and are in stable condition. Another 21 participants were found and had lost vital signs. 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.
↑There is still 1 person missing and further search and rescue is underway.
On the morning of May 23, Red Star News contacted a contestant who recalled his retreat after encountering extreme weather during the race.
The scene of the press conference: the contestant sent WeChat for help and rescued 1200 people
Red Star News reporter learned from the press conference held by the event rescue command that at about 1:00 noon on the 22nd, the high-altitude stage of the 100-kilometer cross-country race was affected by the sudden extreme weather, and there were hail, freezing rain, windy and disastrous weather, the temperature plummeted, the participants were unwell, the temperature was deregulated, etc. During the noon, some participants released distress videos or information in the WeChat group, and the organizing committee immediately suspended the race after retrieving the GPS information of the team members, and launched rescue. The rescue team dispatched more than 1,200 people.
↑ WeChat for help sent by contestants
Red Star News learned from the press conference that due to the complex terrain in the stage and the drop in the night temperature, the difficulty of search and rescue has further increased. As of 8:00 a.m. on May 23, 151 of the 172 participants in the 100-kilometer cross-country race were rescued, of which 8 were treated in hospitals with minor injuries; 20 participants died, and 1 person is still missing and is under further search and rescue.
According to the command, the incident was 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 to conduct a further in-depth investigation into the cause of the incident.
Witnesses: When you arrive at the race point, the weather turns cloudy and windy, and your fingers are frozen to numbness
Red Star News reporter learned from a participant who claimed to be a marathon runner of this cross-country race that this event is a relatively mature event in the eyes of marathon runners, "several sessions down, it is also a mature event, the track has not changed for several years, the staff, volunteers and other relevant personnel are well aware, and in previous years, the race has not had a single even small problem." ”
↑Contestants experience extreme weather
The person who claimed to be a participant in the event said that the morning of the race was still sunny, but when the shuttle bus arrived at the race point, the weather turned cloudy, and then the wind began, "Before the shooting, I ran two kilometers to warm up, which has never happened, and what is more troublesome is that after running these two kilometers, my body did not get hot." ”
The participant said that during the marathon, he experienced rain and headwinds, during which he "found that ten fingers were no longer feeling, and at the same time felt that his tongue was cold." After that, he decided to go down the mountain decisively, "I retreated to the mountainside, and the blue sky rescue team led me to a log cabin, and there were already about ten players who withdrew first." In the more than an hour of waiting for rescue in the cabin, the number of runners in the cabin has reached nearly fifty. ”
Red Star News reporter Shen Xingyi
Edited by Zhang Xun
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