Why did a cross-country race become a "fatal race"? Xinhua News Agency: Four major questions remain to be answered
At about 12:00 on the 23rd, the emergency headquarters of the 4th Yellow River Stone Forest Mountain Marathon 100-kilometer cross-country race in Jingtai, Baiyin City, Gansu Province announced the end of the search and rescue operation, and finally confirmed that 21 contestants were killed. , including some outstanding domestic athletes. The unexpected loss of life is regrettable and shocking.
172 people participated and 21 people died. How did this "fatal" cross-country race, in which more than 10% of the participants were killed, happen? Is it a natural disaster or a man-made disaster?
In an outdoor cross-country event, more than 10% of the participants were killed
At 9:00 on the 22nd, 172 cross-country runners from all over the country embarked on the Jingtai race in Baiyin City, Gansu Province. The Yellow River Stone Forest Mountain Marathon 100-kilometer cross-country race held by the county. This race with steep slopes, sharp turns, and numerous dangerous peaks has been awarded the "Natural Ecological Features Race" and "China Marathon Bronze Medal Race" by the Chinese Athletics Association.
However, only 3 hours after the race started, news such as "several people were unconscious and foaming at the mouth", "come to rescue quickly" and "CP2 summit" exploded in the event work group pot.
Zhang Xuchen, mayor of Baiyin City, said that at that time, disaster weather suddenly occurred between 20 kilometers and 31 kilometers of the high-altitude stage of the 100-kilometer cross-country race (that is, near the 24-kilometer CP2). Hail, freezing rain, strong winds, and temperatures plummeted.
Around 13:30, Wang Qinlin, the party secretary of Humashui Village, Zhongquan Town, Jingtai County, received a notice from the party secretary of Changsheng Village near the danger, and quickly organized villagers to rush to support. Lu Youduo, a villager in Hushui Village, and others found three people freezing to death during the rescue operation. The villagers wearing cotton-padded clothes felt cold even before they reached the top, with body temperature around zero degrees Celsius.
Around 14:00, 2 hours after the distress message was released, the event organizing committee dispatched the scenic area emergency team to reach the top of CP2 and obtained the GPS points of the participants to study and judge the situation before suspending the competition.
Around 18:00, preliminary statistics found that 139 participating athletes had been picked up, and 33 people were still missing.
Around 22:00, more than 10 people were confirmed to have been killed.
Around 1:00 on the 23rd, the command headquarters has confirmed that 151 people are safe, but the casualties of the remaining 21 participants are still unclear. After more than 2 hours, the command headquarters confirmed that 16 of the remaining 21 contestants were killed and 5 were missing. Subsequently, the number of contestants killed increased to 20.
At around 9:00 on the 23rd, the body of the last victim was found. The headquarters confirmed that the number of victims reached 21.
Participants recalled the shocking moment
"Bang", the starting gun was fired at 9:00 on the 22nd. Li Pengcheng (pseudonym) and other runners set off from the starting point, full of joy and joy. Who knows, no one will finish this game.
The day before the competition, the sky was cloudy and windy. Li Pengcheng, a "veteran" competing for the third time, remembered the farmer's proverb in his hometown in Northeast China that after the cloudy wind there must be heavy rain. But looking at the route and supply points, and after consulting the referees and locals, he did not take the weather to heart. The breeze turned into a gust of wind, Li Pengcheng said. He adjusted his breathing according to the rhythm and stepped on the road, still thinking about where he could get this time.
At around 13:00, Li Pengcheng had just run across CP2 when suddenly strong winds and raindrops hit his face. Li Pengcheng had to hold the ground firmly with both hands, and anxiety spread in his heart. Cold was the only thing he felt. Many runners who accompanied them along the way were covered with thermal blankets. Some were huddled under the slope to take shelter from the wind. However, the thin thermal blankets could not block the howling wind. If they were not careful, they would be blown away by the strong wind.
It was cold, so cold. It was almost time to reach CP3. The desire to survive completely defeated the desire to win, and Li Pengcheng decided to withdraw from the competition. This was his happiest decision.
It is as difficult as climbing to the sky to get out of the "Gate of Hell". Li Pengcheng could only hug a male runner in white to keep warm. Not long after being helped away, Li Pengcheng's body, which was numb from the cold, began to lose temperature, and Li Pengcheng, who was unconscious, fainted halfway.
After struggling to open his eyes, Li Pengcheng was already lying on the hospital bed. When he turned on his mobile phone, he realized that several runners had never come back.
Li Jian said that many people were directly blown away, and some players have begun to withdraw from the competition. In the end, Li Jian also chose to go down the mountain.
Li Jian's cell phone ran out of battery when he was going down the mountain. He was exhausted and soaked. He was already in a semi-conscious state, and his instinct supported him to move forward. Li Jian bit his cheek fiercely, staggered a few steps, fell to the ground again, and broke his head. The blood flowed into his mouth, and the salty smell made Li Jian wake up. At this moment, he met the members of the rescue team.
"I couldn't see the way down the mountain clearly at that time. Many players were lying on the side of the track, and some of them may have died." Li Jian said that it was not until after going down the mountain that he regained consciousness. I learned in the WeChat group of runners that many runners have lost contact and cannot be found.
Li Yuanhui, leader of the Baiyin City Fire Rescue Detachment, said that the most difficult part of this search and rescue is that the trapped people are relatively far away. Only some sections of the journey are passable by cars. After arriving at the supply point, they can only Take a walk.
The search process was basically carried out on foot. The topography of the area is very complex, it is very dangerous at night and there are no communication signals in many places, so satellite phones can only be used.
There are still four major questions to be answered
Although the search and rescue has been declared over, this incident will undoubtedly be difficult to bring to an end. Judging from the information released so far, the public still has some questions to be answered.
——Question 1: Why does the weather forecast fail to play an effective early warning role?
Some participants said that the weather was very gloomy the day before the competition, so they consulted the locals, who said it would be sunny as soon as the wind passed, so they didn't care. Kang Yongxue, director of the Jingtai County Meteorological Bureau, said that special information reports were provided for the event and a "blue warning for strong winds" was issued.
Song Ming, the head of a well-known outdoor club in Gansu, said that extreme weather forecasting is one of the prerequisites for large-scale sports events to deal with emergencies. The biggest mistake in this incident was that the operator did not respond to the warning provided by the meteorological department. Make correct predictions.
——Question 2: Is the track protection complete? Are the supply station settings reasonable?
Some participants recalled that after the second check-in point, the wind was so strong that they could only hold on to the ground with both hands. They were so cold that they were frozen and wrapped in a thermal blanket to no avail, until they fainted and lost consciousness.
This cross-country event has a list of equipment for participants. Jackets and other warm equipment are only recommended options, not mandatory equipment. Bu He, director of the Outdoor Sports Teaching and Research Office of the School of Sports, Leisure and Tourism of Beijing Sport University, believes that contestants who do not bring relevant equipment will be caught off guard when encountering extreme weather. According to the scheduled plan, the runners arrived at the track supply station at night, and there were no other supply stations at the most dangerous place. This was unreasonable.
——Question 3: Did the organizer stop the competition in time?
Li Shengxin, deputy director and secretary-general of the Sports Events and Safety Committee of the China Society of Emergency Management, said that what is different from usual marathon events is that this marathon cross-country race has more characteristics of extreme sports. If such games encounter special weather conditions, there should be a plan to suspend or cancel the game.
——Question 4: Is there an emergency rescue plan? Is the rescue capability sufficient?
Li Shengxin said that extreme sports event safety management and emergency rescue must attract great attention, and relevant departments must strengthen pre-match review of rescue plans. Song Ming believes that judging from the rescue situation, the rescue guarantee could not arrive at the first time, which is also an important reason for the serious consequences of this event.
(Originally titled "Why did a cross-country race become a "fatal race"? - Restore the tragic experience of the Jingtai Mountain Marathon Cross-Country Race in Gansu Province")