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A shepherd has been hailed as a hero for saving six runners in an ultramarathon race in which 21 died.

Zhu Keming said he was grazing his sheep on Saturday in the northwestern province of Gansu when rain began to fall and temperature plummeted.

Nearby, the sudden weather change had caught out runners in a 100km (60-mile) cross-country race.

Mr Zhu took refuge in a cave where he stored emergency food and clothes, but while inside he