A female Chinese race car driver and her co-pilot were unharmed when the car they were in overturned and rolled several times during the first stage of Rally Dakar 2016 in Arrecifes city of Argentina.

Female Chinese race car driver Guo Meiling and her unnamed co-driver came out of Guo's Mini Cooper after the accident without a scratch but 13 spectators were severely injured.

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Guo is the first woman to compete in the prestigious Dakar rally. She was onboard the Mini Cooper numbered 360 in the race.

According to the official Xinhua news agency, Guo was driving her Mini Cooper race car during the first stage of Rally Dakar 2016 on Saturday when the car suddenly overturned.

"It happened quickly. The car overturned and then rolled several times towards the crowd," one witness said.

The cause of the crash was still being investigated as observers were puzzled how the car overturned considering that it was not on a curve but on a straight path.

According to Miguel Sanchez, the chief of the voluntary firemen corps of Arrecifes, the 13 spectators who were hurt in the crash were brought to the nearby Santa Francisca Romana hospital.

The victims include five children and a pregnant woman, Sanchez told Xinhua, adding that victims had multiple injuries and severe wounds and fractures. Doctors said three of the victims have life-threatening injuries.

The 2016 Dakar Rally is the 37th running of the event and the eighth successive year that the event will be held in South America. The event started in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 2, then run through Argentina and Bolivia.

TagsDaka Rally, Daka Rally Argentina, Guo Meiling, Daka Rally 2016