Athlete killed in accident on Venlo obstacle course

A woman was severely injured while taking part in the VenloStormt obstacle course on Saturday. She was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, where she died of her injuries a short time later, a spokesperson for the event organizers said to NU.nl.

The woman got hurt after sliding from a meters-high slide into the water of the harbor. Once in the water, she collided with another participant and disappeared under water, according to the newspaper. It took several minutes for divers to pull her out and start resuscitation, 1Limburg reports.

The participant was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, where she died a short time later.

The rest of Saturday's obstacle runs were canceled, but the event went through on Sunday as planned. According to NU.nl, this was partly at the insistence of the victim's family. The program was adapted in two parts to make it safer for participants, including that the Super Slide was eliminated from the run. The organizers also decided that the course would no longer be a race.

"This shouldn't have happened. You should be able to be almost 100 percent certain that no one will die", Dirk Schrama, a fervent obstacle course participant, said to NOS after the events on Saturday. "A few scratches, some swelling or even a break - that's all part of it when you participate in something like this. Sometimes someone goes home in a plaster cast, but there is almost never a death."