A man has collapsed and died during the Belfast City Marathon this morning.
The runner, aged in his 50s, encountered difficulties at around the sixth mile, near Victoria Park in East Belfast, and was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) in West Belfast, but later died.
A statement from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) said: "The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service received a 999 call at 9:55 on Monday 7 June to report that a male runner, approx 50 years old, in the Belfast Marathon had collapsed on the Sydenham Bypass.
"NIAS were on scene within four minutes having dispatched a rapid response paramedic and an accident and emergency crew.
"The patient was assessed and, following initial treatment at the scene, he was brought by ambulance to RVH."
Two senior members of the management team visited the family in hospital, a spokeswoman for the marathon organisers said.
A post-mortem examination is expected to be carried out later to establish how the man died.
Nearly 17,000 people took part in today's marathon, a record number for the event.
