Young BMX rider dies after crash

A 17-year-old Latvian freestyle BMX rider has died of injuries sustained in a crash during a competition here, organisers said on Sunday.

Arturs Grikis fell from his bike at the Ghetto Games extreme sports event Saturday, and died of internal injuries at the city's Ventspils hospital Sunday morning.

Event organiser Raimonds Elbakjans told Latvian news agency LETA that Grikis slipped while performing a 360-degree spin and landed heavily on his abdomen.

"He was a very strong guy, so after the incident he was able to stand up and walk to the ambulance that took him to hospital," Elbakjans said.

"At seven in the morning, we were told of the tragedy and automatically cancelled the competition."

The Ghetto Games festival was the first to be held in Riga and was scheduled to include 1,500 competitors from 15 countries over three days.

Grikis had been billed as a promising rider who had begun to attract international attention.