Chilecito, Argentina | AFP
Polish motorcyclist Michal Hernik died on Tuesday during the Dakar Rally, organisers said.
The KTM rider, competing in the race for the first time, was killed during the third stage from Villa Carlos Paz and Chilecito in Argentina.
He was found lifeless at 4.03pm local time around 300 metres from the track, the organisers’ statement said.
Stage director Etienne Lavigne said the 39-year-old was found without his helmet but that his bike showed no signs of having been involved a crash.
Organisers had been searching for Hernik by helicopter after his tracker had stopped sending a signal from 2.37pm and he had failed to turn up at the stage finish by 3.16pm.
His was the fifth death on the gruelling off-road race since it was moved to South America in 2009 due to the unstable safety situation across the Sahara Desert.
It was the 24th death since the rally began in 1979.
ol/bc/ps
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