KARACHI, Pakistan
A German mountaineer and Olympic gold medalist, who was injured while attempting to scale a peak in northern Pakistan, has been confirmed dead, an official said on Wednesday.
Laura Dahlmeier was injured and stranded while attempting to scale Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountain range on Monday.
"German Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier was confirmed dead on Wednesday after a tragic mountaineering accident in the high mountains of Pakistan," said Karrar Haidri, vice president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, the country's official mountaineering body, in a statement.
Credit: Alpine Club of Pakistan
"Despite tireless efforts by the local rescue teams, persistent adverse weather severely hampered rescue operations," he added.
Dahlmeier, 31, who also won the 2017 women’s biathlon World Cup, was seriously injured after being hit by falling rocks while climbing Laila Peak at an altitude of around 5,700 meters (18,700 feet) in the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region, which borders neighboring China.
Her climbing partner, Marina Eva, remained unhurt and managed to successfully descend to base camp on Tuesday with help from local rescuers.
The northern GB region is home to five of the 14 peaks above 8,000m (26,246 ft), including K2, where mountaineering accidents are not rare.
