Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation
Rescue workers at the site of the ultramarathon where extreme cold weather killed participants  near Baiyin city
Rescue workers at the site of the ultramarathon where extreme cold weather killed participants near Baiyin city. Photograph: Reuters
Rescue workers at the site of the ultramarathon where extreme cold weather killed participants near Baiyin city. Photograph: Reuters

Survivors and bereaved seek answers after 21 deaths in China ultramarathon

This article is more than 2 years old

Lack of cold-weather gear questioned as more harrowing accounts of survivors emerge

Loved ones and fellow competitors of 21 runners who died in extreme weather during an ultramarathon in north-west China are seeking answers and accountability, as further accounts emerge of survivors’ harrowing experiences.

Twenty-one runners died on Saturday when below-freezing temperatures, hail and high winds hit the race track: a 100km stretch of mountainous trail about 3,000 metres above sea level, in the Yellow River Stone Forest tourist site near Baiyin city. A further eight people were injured.

Among the dead were elite runners, including the 31-year-old record-holder, Liang Jing, and the Paralympian Huang Ganjun. Six runners were rescued by a local shepherd who sheltered them in a nearby cave, including at least one unconscious man, Zhang Xiaotao, whom he carried in from the track.

The shepherd, Zhu Keming, has been hailed as a national hero for saving their lives.

The high-level central commission for discipline inspection is investigating the circumstances surrounding the tragedy, in which survivors sheltered in caves, waiting hours to be rescued after they were stranded mostly between the second and third checkpoints.

The mayor of Baiyin, Zhang Xuchen, said on Tuesday 161 family members of the victims had arrived in Gansu province. More than half had settled compensation arrangements, reportedly of about $150,000, but some families had rejected the payments, saying the authorities had given no explanation for the deaths, which involved “human error” as much as natural disaster.

The record-holding runner Liang Jing, who died in the tragedy. Photograph: Jean-Pierre Clatot/AFP/Getty Images

Some observers have questioned the lack of mandatory cold-weather gear other than an emergency blanket in the race’s equipment list, particularly for such a remote, high-altitude event. China News Weekly also quoted local rescue personnel saying they had struggled to locate people in the inaccessible terrain, before finding four competitors in a cave later that night, three of whom had died.

On social media, Luo Jing, a well-known Chinese athlete and mountaineer, warned others to take their own safety seriously, suggesting the high death count was at least partly attributed to inadequate preparation for the surprise extreme weather.

“Because I have experienced many dangers in mountaineering before, I understand that my safety must be in my own hands,” Luo said. “Trail running is the same as mountain climbing. You have to make plans for the worst case every time, and don’t pin your hopes on others!”

She said her life was saved by having warm clothing with her, and having enough time to descend.

Runner says she saw 'many with hypothermia' during deadly China ultramarathon – video

Another competitor said there had been no forecast of the extreme weather, and while it was cold the sun was shining when she began the race. She said conditions worsened when she was between the second and third checkpoints, a treacherous, steep and technical part of the trail that involves climbing and does not allow for any supplies to be left at the third checkpoint.

“There is nowhere to rest and you can’t stop on the exposed mountains … But on this day, the problems were magnified.”

Luo said she grew cold and tried to take shelter, but her emergency blanket was torn to shreds by the wind. She began to show signs of hypothermia so she decided to retire, sheltering with others in a cave.

“It is easy to go up the mountain and difficult to go down, especially this kind of very steep terrain.”

The runner said she was “lucky to make a timely decision at the last moment”, and the sheltering group were told they had to make their own way down or wait longer for rescue. She later heard stories of runners passing by others who had collapsed on the track, and they were unable to help.

“This situation does not mean that the organising committee has to bear any responsibility, nor does it prove that the racing itself is bad,” she said. “But the follow-up rescue is a test of the organising committee.”

Other competitors suggested the high prize-money pool would have enticed many to try to push through the bad weather. Local media said some bereaved family members, who felt the compensation offered was too low, had described the runners as the family breadwinners.

“We were like, ‘Hold for a bit and I will get that 1,600’ and thought things would get better once we reached checkpoint 3,” one of the surviving runners, Bi Jiao-Jie, told media.

Will Ford, a journalist covering ultramarathon running, said in Outside magazine the huge increase in the popularity of competitive running in China had led to the creation of thousands of races, some run by government officials as tourism promotion events.

“Because there aren’t enough experienced organisers to run all these races safely, responsible preparation and oversight – including contingency planning for bad weather – is absent at many events,” he said.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, a number of running events in China have been cancelled, including an upcoming XTrail race in Xinjiang. On Wednesday, the organisers of the Lanzhou marathon in Gansu’s capital announced the postponement of the event, due to be held next month, citing coronavirus concerns “and other factors”.

Most viewed

Most viewed