Foreign rider dies in SL in off road cycling competition

A foreign rider participating in the “Rumble in the Jungle” – the adventure themed off-road bicycle race has died after falling into the Mahaweli River in Mahiyanganaya in Sri Lanka.
The Rumble in the Jungle – the mountain bike race through the jungles and rough terrain in the island from June 9th – 15th was suspended following the death of the Nepalese contestant.
Sri Lankan Airlines, the organizer of the event earlier in a statement said that the Rumble in the Jungle currently being held in Sri Lanka was suspended in order to locate the missing contestant. “One rider, a foreign participant whose team was leading the race, is currently unaccounted for. Search & Rescue teams aided by the Sri Lankan Police are working round the clock to locate the missing rider,” the organizer said.
The contestant has reportedly advised not to ride across a ford, instead carry the bike and wade across but was swept away when he tried to ride across the ford. A total of 39 competitors participated in the race, mostly from the UK, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. According to the organizers, the adventure race “takes riders from hot and humid jungles, through mountain hugging tea plantations and across the islands highest plateau. Along the way riders will need to wade across rivers, ride through dense jungle, which is home to wild elephants, leopards and snakes, tackle 1000+m climbs and negotiate bone clattering rocky descents.”