Two runners lost their lives in a mountain marathon in Romania’s Piatra Craiului mountains on Saturday. The two athletes, a 45-year old woman and a 39-year old man fell 70 meters into a ravine. The man was a doctor from Cluj-Napoca who worked in England, according to Stirileprotv.ro.

The mountain rescuers, who were close by, got to them within 10-15 minutes and found the woman unconscious and the man with both legs broken and possible spine injury. The rescuers managed to get the man to base quickly, but his state got worse and he died before getting to the hospital.

The place where the two runners fell is a difficult one as the path passes next to a rock wall and has a deep ravine on the other side. The marathon’s organizers had installed ropes on the wall, which the competitors should have used for safety, but the two victims probably missed them. The terrain was also wet because of the rain.

The competition was stopped immediately after the tragedy.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Maraton Piatra Craiului Facebook page)