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This photo taken on May 24, 2021 shows shepherd Zhu Keming showing the cave dwelling where he sheltered stricken athletes near the city of Baiyin, in China's northwestern Gansu province.

A shepherd in northwest China has been credited with saving six trail runners from dangerously extreme weather, according to state media. Twenty-one other runners died during the 100-kilometer (62-mile) race on Saturday.

According to China National Radio, Zhu Keming was grazing his sheep near the high-altitude Huanghe Shilin Mountain in Gansu Province when the weather turned sour. He sought refuge in a cave where he had stored some firewood and clothes near the running trail.

"The weather that day was really uncommon. It was foggy and raining and windy and sometimes hailing. That kind of weather is really rare," Zhu told China National Radio.

As temperatures dropped, runners started reported suffering from hypothermia, while others went missing. Marathon organizers called off the race and launched a search party of 1,200 people to scour the complicated terrain, in an operation that continued after dark.