Seven athletes suffer chemical burns at Liepāja motorsport event

Seven athletes sought medical help after suffering chemical burns at the Amber Piston Hard Enduro event on Saturday, October 24, at the former Liepājas metalurgs factory grounds, LSM reported.

The athletes’ lower legs suffered mild to moderately severe burns, Liepāja Regional Hospital spokeswoman Indra Grase told the LETA news agency. After examinations, all were treated as outpatients under the supervision of their family doctors.

Kaspars Ērmanis, a representative of the Latvian Motorsport Federation’s Enduro Commission, told LETA that four athletes with more serious burns had visited the State Burn Centre for health checks. The injured included riders from all three Baltic states, he said, adding that the federation was in contact with them and had urged anyone with even the slightest concern to seek medical help.

Ērmanis said the federation had received all approvals to hold the event, and that both the competition and the athletes were insured. Riders had trained on the track before, and there had been no indication of a health risk, he said. He described the burns as an unfortunate coincidence rather than a result of negligence or inattention by the organisers.

The State Environmental Service has taken soil samples to determine what may have caused the burns. The cause is expected to become clearer once the samples have been analysed.