Sport This article is more than 1 year oldRunner killed after lightning strikes athletes during Greek mountain race
This article is more than 1 year old- One other man seriously injured after strike on Mt Falakro
- Fire crews attended scene of accident in early hours of Sunday
One runner was killed and another seriously injured on Sunday when they were struck by lightning during a nighttime trail race up a Greek mountain, local police said.
The two men were competing in the Six Peaks race, which takes place on Mount Falakro in northern Greece, when lightning struck the group of runners. The incident happened at 4am at an altitude of 1,340 metres (4,400 feet).
Two fire service rescue squads ascended the mountain from the nearby town of Drama to find one runner, 55, already dead and another, 56, seriously injured. The injured runner was airlifted to hospital, where authorities said he was in serious condition. Neither man was identified.
The 22.2-mile race had started at 7pm on Saturday in the village of Pyrgoi, and was scheduled to take place over Falakro’s six highest peaks in Greece, which are all more than 6,500ft high. The mountain extends into Bulgaria.
The weather was good when the race started but during the night heavy rain developed and the trail became muddy. By the time the lightning struck, several of the 55 runners taking part had reached the finish line. Runners had 12 hours to complete the race.
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