BEIJING: Native people were killed and one remains missing following beating, freezing rain and high winds strike runners participating in a 100-kilometre cross-country mountain biking in Chinaand local officials said Sunday.

“Abrupt, extreme weather” struck a high-altitude part of this race held at the Yellow River Stone Forest near Baiyin town in northwestern Gansu province around 1pm Saturday, Baiyin city officials stated in a briefing.

“At about noon, the high-altitude segment of this race between 20 and 31 kilometres was unexpectedly affected by devastating weather.

In a brief time period, hailstones and ice rain abruptly fell in the neighborhood region, and there have been strong winds.

The fever aggressively dropped,” explained Baiyin town mayor Zhang Xuchen.

Soon after getting messages of assistance from several participants, even marathon organisers dispatched a rescue group that was able to rescue 18 participants,” he explained.

At approximately 2pm, weather conditions worsened and the race was promptly called away as local governments sent more rescuers to assist, Zhang added.

“This episode is a public security incident brought on by abrupt changes in weather at a neighborhood region,” he explained, adding provincial government will further explore its origin.

A additional eight athletes were treated at hospital for minor accidents, Zhang explained.

State news agency Xinhua previously reported that a few of the runners endured from hypothermia as a consequence of the current weather.

Temperatures at the inland terrain fell farther immediately, Xinhua said, creating search and save”harder”.

“At 3am Sunday, 151 participants are verified to be protected, of that five having minor injuries have been treated at the clinic and also in stable condition,” it stated.

Xinhua reported that a total of 172 individuals were participating in the race.

Gansu, among China’s poorest places, borders Mongolia to the north west and Xinjiang into the west.

Deadly flooding and landslides have struck the state before, with mudslides allegedly killing well over 1,000 individuals in 1 city in 2010.

It’s also prone to earthquakes.

Yellow River Stone Forest is known for its rugged mountain scene marked by rock stalagmites and columns, and can be employed as a place in several Chinese tv shows and films, according to the China Daily.

Its stone formations are considered to be four thousand years older, the Daily said.