The luminescence of photoexcited carriers far above the band gap of Ga0.47In0.53As is studied with subpicosecond time resolution. In undamaged material the luminescence decays with characteristic times of 2–4 ps in the energy range between 1.9 and 1.4 eV, due to the rapid energy relaxation of electrons and holes far above the band edges. In radiation‐damaged (He+bombarded) material, luminescence decay times as short as 0.9 ps are observed. The luminescence spectra give evidence for extreme nonequilibrium distributions of the photoexcited carriers, caused by the ultrafast recombination, which—in radiation‐damaged samples—is a faster process than energy relaxation.