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A Chinese provincial official has jumped to his death during an investigation into the deaths of 21 runners last month when freezing rain and strong winds hit the mountain where they were competing in an ultramarathon, state television reported Friday.
CCTV said police received a notification on Wednesday that a man had jumped out of his apartment and had died. After being investigated, he was found to be the Communist Party Secretary of Jingtai County, Li Zubei. She added that murder was ruled out.
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CCTV channel reported that the government of Gansu Province in western China issued, on Friday, sanctions to 27 officials, and relieved Li after his death, but dismissed his deputy, Zhang Wenling. Two other lower-ranking officials were detained pending further investigation, while the others were sentenced to administrative penalties, cuts, warnings and defects.
A report from the county concluded that there was a lack of proper event planning and a failure to respond effectively once weather conditions deteriorated significantly during the May 22 race, she said.
The report said the organizing committee had failed to implement its protocols for running the race and was guilty of being “overly formal and bureaucratic”.
The runners were running 100 kilometers (62 miles), partly along a very narrow mountain track, at altitudes of up to 2,000-3,000 meters (6,500-9,800 feet) at the Yellow River Stone Forest tourist site in Baiyin, Gansu.
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Reports stated that about $150,000 was offered in compensation for each victim, but some family members rejected the amount, saying that many of those who died were breadwinners and at the top of their sport. Among those who died was well-known runner Liang Jing, who won the 100 km (62 miles) race in the Gobi Desert.
While the race has been held several times before, the runners seem to have been taken aback by the cold weather and challenging conditions on steep, unpaved tracks made up of a mixture of stones and sand.
Amid the freezing rain and gale-force winds, about 50 of the more than 170 contestants were sheltered in traditional cave dwellings run by herders. An overnight rescue mission brought most of them to safety, although many were taken to hospital.
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