Severe weather kills 21 cross-country runners in China
Beijing: Twenty-one people were killed in northwest China as extreme weather struck participants in a 100-km cross-country mountain marathon race, officials said on Sunday.
High winds and freezing rain hit participants in the race in the Yellow River Stone Forest, a tourist site in Gansu province, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
A total of 172 people took part in the mountain marathon. As of 9.30 Sunday morning, the death toll rose to 21, the official media reported.
Other 151 mountain marathon participants were confirmed safe, of which eight with minor injuries were treated in the hospital.
According to the rescue headquarters, at about 1 pm on Saturday, hails, freezing rain and gales hit the area of the race's high-altitude stage between 20 to 31 km.
Participants suffered from physical discomfort due to the sudden drop in air temperature.
The race was halted when some runners went missing.
Local governments initiated an emergency response and gathered over 1,200 well-equipped rescuers to search for the missing persons, said Zhang Xuchen, mayor of Baiyin City, at the press briefing.
The temperature dropped again during the night due to the area's complex terrain and topography, making the search and rescue more difficult, the report said.
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Vitla police seize vehicle transporting cattle illegally
Vitla: Vitla Sub-inspector Ramakrishna has seized a vehicle that was allegedly transporting cattle illegally at Karai of Kolnadu village in Bantwal taluk. Two men in the vehicle, identified as Naveen and Chethan of Mandya, have reportedly been subjected to police questioning.
Police sources have said that the SI saw a vehicle transporting two cows and parked by the road. When he questioned the driver Naveen and Chethan, who were in the vehicle, about the cattle, he was told by the duo that the cows belonged to one Shankar, a resident of Channarayapatna. The men also told the SI that Shankar was supplying the cattle to a man in Salettur, identified as Shafi, allegedly for beef production.
Further, Naveen and Chethan confessed before the officer that they had gotten the cattle transport permit in others’ names, the sources have added.
