Community Corner

Howard County Man Dies after Accident on Tough Mudder Course

The 28-year-old man died after he jumped into a deep pool of muddy water on an obstacle course in West Virginia.

An Ellicott City man died after injuries suffered from an accident on a Tough Mudder obstacle course in Glengary, West Virginia on Saturday.

Avishek Sengupta, 28, was taken off of life support at a Falls Church, VA hospital on Sunday, according to the Baltimore Sun.

A friend of Sengupta told the Sun that Sengupta was with friends at the obstacle course when he jumped off a plank into a deep pool of muddy water and then did not resurface until he was pulled out by a diver after several minutes.

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At the time, he was on the Walk the Plank obstacle—a 15-foot high jump into cold water designed to "test your fear of heights and cold all in one," according to the website of the organization that runs the event.

A Tough Mudder spokesperson declined to comment on why it may have taken so long for someone to reach Sengupta.

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Arsham Mirshah, a friend of Sengupta, told the Martinsburg Journal that he witnessed the incident and said in an email to the Journal, "I urge and welcome a thorough investigation of the obstacle itself, the safety personnel present and safety procedures that took place during the incident."

The Journal reported that West Virginia University Hospitals issued a statement on Monday that it received a total of 20 patients from the event on Saturday. The patients included two heart attacks and one potential drowning other than Sengupta, according to the report.

Tough Mudder addressed the death on its website in a statement. The organization said this is the first fatality in over 50 events that had more than 750,000 participants over the past three years.

"As organizers, we take our responsibility to provide a safe event to our participants very seriously," said Will Dean, CEO of Tough Mudder, in the statement. "Tough Mudder is devastated by this tragic accident."

The course was staffed with over 75 emergency personnel at the time of the accident, according to Tough Mudder.

Tough Mudder bills itself as "Probably the Toughest Event on the Planet." Its website says the courses are designed by British Special Forces to "test all around strength, stamina, mental grit and camaraderie."


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