‘Hero’ mountain shepherd saves six ultra-marathon runners during event in China where 21 died in extreme cold

The shepherd guided stricken marathon runners to a cave he uses for shelter, keeping food and clothes

A mountain shepherd has been hailed as a hero in China after he saved six ultra-marathon runners during an event where 21 had died due to extreme cold.

The 100km race started on Saturday morning in a mountainous region in Gansu with many of the 172 participants dressed in shorts and running tops.

But soon conditions worsened as the area was hit by bad weather including a sudden drop in temperature, hail and rain. The harsh conditions led to the death of 21 runners while 151 were rescued, including six that were saved by 49-year-old goat herder Zhu Keming.

He took the participants to a nearby cave that he uses for shelter, keeping clothes and food, reported The Beijing News.

Around 2pm, he was in the cave taking shelter from the bad weather when someone’s yelling for help drew his attention. Mr Keming found that it was an injured runner drenched from the storm. The goat herder brought him into the cave, made him sit near the fire and gave him a quilt. He went on to take in several other runners who were in distress.

Mr Keming said: “They kept on shivering because of the coldness. They then sat together by the fire to warm themselves, but their bodies were still shivering for a while.”

Of the six he saved, the last one was found when the shepherd came out of the cave and walked for few metres while trying to find phone signal to call for help. He said that the runner was on the ground and could not walk, reported the South China Morning Post.

Mr Keming said he tried carrying him back to the cave, but was not able to as the runner was too heavy for him alone. “At last, I and those runners in the cave lifted him up and carried him to the cave,” he said.

Despite the media attention around his actions, the shepherd refused to take credit and said he “did not do anything special.” “Anyone else will do the same in that circumstance,” he said.

The last runner saved by the shepherd, Zhang Xiaotao, recounted his ordeal on Weibo, a popular social media platform in China, and revealed that he had lost consciousness on the mountain for two and a half hours before being rescued by Mr Keming.

“He made a fire, took off my wet clothes, and wrapped me up with a quilt. Another hour later, I woke up and regained consciousness. I should thank the uncle who saved me. Without him, I might have stayed there forever. His kindness has made me reborn and I will never forget his kindness to me,” wrote Zhang Xiaotao.

The six marathon runners dried their clothes by the fire and were finally taken away by rescue teams from the cave in the evening around 7pm.