Inclement weather during the Ultra Trail of Haut-Giffre (UTHG) race on Saturday resulted in the death of a runner, according to a statement from the organizers.
“It is with great sadness that we announce that UTHG has just learned of a tragic event with the accidental death of a racer,” organizers said. “All our thoughts are with the victim’s family and relatives,” the statement added.
The runner was not identified in the statement and organizers said first responders provided aid while awaiting transport.
“In such circumstances, we have decided to cancel the rest of the event,” the statement added.
CNN has contacted the company to get further information.
Four runners were engaged in the incident, which occurred on a slick route, the local prosecutor told CNN affiliate BFMTV on Saturday.
In a hilly terrain rendered slick by the weather, Bonneville public prosecutor Karline Bouisset said the four runners went down, as reported by BFMTV.
An autopsy will ascertain the precise cause of death for one of the four individuals, a guy in his 50s who died at the scene and was thought to have died from a cardiorespiratory arrest, Bouisset said BFMTV.
According to Ms. Bouisset, two individuals who had fallen had serious injuries but were in stable condition. The fourth individual affected was a female who sustained less serious injuries. According to Bouisset, the three wounded racers had all been taken to a hospital.
She informed BFMTV that the event was being looked into by the prosecutor's office.
The three-day race was scheduled to take place from June 14 to June 16 in the French Alps in the eastern French department of Haute Savoie.
The start of the race had to be postponed by the organizers because of "difficult weather conditions" earlier on Saturday.
Early on Saturday morning, around the time of the tragedy, mountain weather predictions warned of severe weather conditions in the northern French Alps.
the region from west to east,” said Météo Alpes, an independent weather service provider specialized in the northern French Alps, on Thursday.
“A brief thunderstorm is possible, with wet condition for lower level and snow will appear under the highest intensities starting at 2600/2700 meters,” its forecast said.
The total number of runners hurt in the inclement conditions is unknown.
All participants were supposed to have been evacuated by Saturday afternoon, according to a statement released by the organizers early on Saturday.
