A 59-year-old swimmer in a Hong Kong triathlon who went missing during an amber rainstorm has been found dead, prompting an expert to call for such events be suspended when the relevant warning is in force, citing increasingly unpredictable extreme weather.
Police told the South China Morning Post that Fire Services Department officers found the man at around 3.17pm on Sunday. He was sent to Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in Tai Po, where he was pronounced dead at 3.33pm.
The force had earlier received a report at 7.57am that a male participant of the 2026 Summer Triathlon Challenge at Tai Mei Tuk Water Sports Centre in Tai Po had entered the water for the swimming leg but failed to resurface.
The deceased, Ma Chi-po, had been competing in the “Pink Challenge Distance”, which consisted of a 1,500m swim, a 30km cycling leg along Bride’s Pool Road, and an 8km run, the South China Morning Post learned.
He was reportedly a retired marine police officer. An SCMP check found a senior constable with the same name had previously won the senior category at a triathlon in Tai Mei Tuk, according to police publication records.
Ma entered the water at around 6.12am but did not return to shore.