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May 23rd, 2021 
Awake Goy BEIJING—At least 21 people were killed when extremely cold weather struck during an ultramarathon on Saturday in rugged Gansu province in northwestern China, state media reported on Sunday, sparking public outrage over the lack of contingency planning.
Another eight had been injured, officials from Baiyin city told the press at 8 a.m. Beijing time on Sunday.
The 62-mile (100-kilometer) cross-country race kicked off on Saturday morning 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 scenic tourist site in Jingtai, a county under the jurisdiction of Baiyin city.
“At around noon, the high-altitude section of the race between 20 and 31 kilometres 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,” said Baiyin city mayor Zhang Xuchen.
The race was called off around 2 p.m. when weather conditions worsened.
“This incident is a public safety incident caused by sudden changes in weather in a local area,” Zhang said. He added that provincial authorities would launch an investigation.
A total of 172 people took part in the race. As of Sunday, 151 participants had been confirmed safe, including the injured, official Chinese state media Xinhua news agency reported.
A massive rescue effort was initiated, with over 1,200 rescuers dispatched, assisted by thermal-imaging drones, radar detectors and demolition equipment, according to Xinhua.
A landslide following the severe weather also hampered the rescue work, said officials from Baiyin, about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) west of the Chinese capital Beijing.
Temperatures dropped again during the night due to the area’s complex terrain and topography, making the search and rescue more difficult, state media reported.
A landslide following the severe weather also hampered the rescue work, Baiyin officials said.
Public Outrage
Baiyin, including Jingtai, was expected to see moderate to strong winds from Friday night through Saturday, according to the China Meteorological Administration in Beijing in a report late on Friday.
A separate report on the website of provincial weather services on Thursday also predicted a “significant” drop in temperature in most parts of Gansu, including Baiyin, through Sunday.
Jingtai county saw a low of 43 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius) on Saturday excluding wind chill.
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 on Sunday, Baiyin officials bowed and apologised, saying they were saddened by the tragic deaths of the runners and that they were to be blamed.
By Ryan Woo and Lusha Zhang
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