Families of 21 Chinese runners want answers over tragedy

Family members of 21 runners who died when freezing rain and strong winds interrupted a weekend mountain race in northwestern China have rejected offers of compensation and want to know how the tragedy could happen

BEIJING -- Family members of 21 runners who died when freezing rain and strong winds interrupted a weekend mountain race in northwestern China have rejected offers of compensation and want to know how the tragedy could happen, local media reported Wednesday. Reports said about $150,000 in compensation has been offered for each victim, but family members were quoted as saying that many were breadwinners and were at the top of their sport. While the race has been held before, runners on Saturday were apparently caught off guard by cold weather and difficult conditions on steep unpaved paths mixing stones and sand. They were racing on an extremely narrow mountain path at an altitude reaching 2,000-3,000 meters (6,500-9,800 feet) on a 100-kilometer (60-mile) course in the Yellow River Stone Forest tourist site on the outskirts of Baiyin city. Around midday Saturday, freezing rain and gale-force winds halted the race in the northwestern province of Gansu and prompted an all-night rescue operation.