PERTH, Australia (AP) — Four runners competing in a three-day, 62-mile ultramarathon sustained serious burns after being trapped in a gorge by a wildfire in Western Australia state’s Kimberley tourist region.
Royal Flying Doctor Service spokeswoman Joanne Hill told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Saturday that two women, believed to be from the eastern states of Australia and aged 36 and 24, were in critical condition at Darwin Hospital after sustaining burns over 60 to 80 percent of their bodies.
Race officials said the women were to be flown to specialist burn units in Sydney and Melbourne on Saturday because of their grave condition.
Hill said two men, aged 44 and 56, had less serious burns following the Friday afternoon incident. Hill said the men’s nationalities should be determined once they were flown to a Perth hospital.
The race, which was scheduled to end Sunday, was canceled.
