Polish rider dies during Dakar rally

KTM rider Michal Hernik of Poland gives a thumbs-up during the departure ceremony of the seventh South American edition of the Dakar Rally, in front of the Casa Rosada Presidential Palace in Buenos Aires, in this file photo taken January 3, 2015. Hernik died on Tuesday while racing in the Dakar Rally in Argentina, organisers said in a statement. The 39-year-old's body was found at the 206km mark of the third stage between San Juan and Chilecito in the northwest of the country, the said. Picture taken January 3, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

BUENOS AIRES - Polish motorcycle rider Michal Hernik died on Tuesday while racing in the Dakar Rally in Argentina, organisers said in a statement.

The 39-year-old's body was found at the 206km mark of the third stage between San Juan and Chilecito in the northwest of the country, the said.

"The circumstances of his death have not yet been determined. He showed no sign of having been involved in an accident," the statement said.

Hernik raced for the KTM team. His body was found 300m from the course.

The 9,000km-long Dakar Rally runs through Argentina, Chile and Bolivia with the finish in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, on Jan. 17.

Hernik is the fifth competitor to die during racing since the rally came to South America in 2009. It started out as a gruelling and sometimes fatal race from Paris across the Sahara to the Senegalese capital Dakar.