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An Iranian cyclist has died after a crash in a men's road race at the Rio Paralympics.
Bahman Golbarnezhad, aged 48, was competing in the C4-5 event for athletes with lower limb impairments or amputations.
The cyclist was descending a steep hill on a mountainous stretch of the course when he crashed at around 10:40am local time, according to the International Paralympics Committee.
Mr Golbarnezhad received emergency treatment on the course and suffered cardiac arrest while he was being transported to a Rio hospital, where he died.
The IPC said it believes this is the first death in a Paralympics and officials said the cause of the crash, which remains unclear, was being investigated.
“This is truly heart-breaking news, and the thoughts and condolences of the whole Paralympic Movement are with Bahman's family, friends, and teammates, as well as the whole of the National Paralympic Committee of Iran,” IPC President Philip Craven said in a statement.
“The Paralympic family is united in grief at this horrendous tragedy, which casts a shadow over what have been great Paralympic Games.”
The Iranian flag has been lowered to half-mast in the athletes' village and Mr Golbarnezhad's family, who are in Iran, were informed this afternoon, according to the IPC.
A moment of silence will be held for the cyclist during Sunday night's closing ceremony.
According to a Paralympic biography, Mr Golbarnezhad was born in Shiraz, Iran's sixth most populous city.
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