Li Zuobi, the main local leader of the ultra-marathon race in Jingtai County, Gansu Province, China, which caused dozens of deaths, committed suicide by jumping from a building; Li’s deputy, the governor of Jingtai County, was removed from his post. A local official announcement said that Li Zuobi, who was secretary of the county party committee of Jingtai County, “should be responsible for the main leadership”.
The Gansu Provincial Joint Investigation Group held a press conference on Friday (June 11) to announce that Li Zuobi had died and that a written conclusion on his disciplinary issues was made in accordance with the disciplinary regulations of the Communist Party of China, but that “no further punishment will be given”.
The marathon was held last month in the Yellow River Rock Forest scenic area in Jintai County, Baiyin City, Gansu Province, with 172 athletes, including world-class marathoner Liang Jing. Due to a sudden change in weather, 21 good marathoners died, and Liang Jing was among them.
The joint investigation team said Li Zuobi committed suicide by jumping from the residential building where his home is located on Wednesday. It is said that Li Zuobi was interviewed by the discipline inspection department before he committed suicide.
The Joint Investigation Group concluded that the incident was a “public safety liability incident”. The investigation team believes that in this incident, in addition to the sudden change in weather, the relevant parties in the event organization and management of irregularities in the operation of the implementation of unprofessional, significant casualties are responsible for the occurrence of major casualties. The investigation team imposed penalties on 27 public officials.
The Chinese media reported that the event was hosted by the Baiyin Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, the Baiyin Sports Bureau, the county party committee and county government of Jingtai County, the specific event operation by Shengjing Sports and Culture Development Co.
Ltd. was found to be directly responsible for the occurrence of the event, the company’s head Zhang Xiaoyan and other five people have been formally approved for arrest, by the judicial authorities to pursue their criminal responsibility according to law.
In addition, the event organizers, contractors, co-organizers, executive operators and other 16 units and 27 related personnel were held accountable.
Among these 27 public officials, there are 5 provincial cadres and the rest are non-provincial cadres.
Baiyin Municipal Party Committee Secretary Su Jun was given a political warning, and Zhang Xuchen, deputy secretary and mayor of the city, was given a political demerit. Local specific tournament organizers and those responsible, the county party committee and county government of Jingtai County and the Baiyin City Sports Bureau were all held accountable. The county’s deputy secretary of the county party committee, county mayor Zhang Wenling was removed from office.
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