By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A German mountaineer, severely injured, is missing after a rockfall struck her during a climb in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region, authorities said on Tuesday.
Her climbing partner was rescued by army helicopters, but efforts to reach the injured climber remain stalled by severe weather and rugged terrain.
Laura Dahlmeier, a former Olympic and world champion biathlete, was ascending Laila Peak (6,096 meters) with Marina Eva when the accident occurred around noon on July 28 at approximately 5,700 meters, according to Karrar Haidri, vice president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
Haidri said the expedition organiser quickly alerted emergency services, prompting a rescue mission involving Pakistan Army helicopters and local high-altitude porters. Harsh weather and difficult terrain, however, prevented helicopters from landing at the site on July 28.
By July 29, Eva had descended to base camp and was airlifted to safety, reported in good health. Rescue teams, meanwhile, could not reach Dahlmeier as conditions worsened.
Germany’s ZDF broadcaster reported that no emergency response had so far reached her.
But Faizullah Faraq, a government spokesman said Dahlmeier, according to reports from the remote valley, was taken away by locals from the landslide site.
A statement posted on Dahlmeier’s Instagram account said a helicopter flyover found her “seriously injured” with “no signs of life,” fueling fears she may not have survived. The post highlighted her experience as a mountaineer, noting her successful ascent of Great Trango Tower (6,287 meters) earlier in July.
Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson Faraq said an international rescue team, aided by local climbers, was supporting the effort. “We are doing everything possible under these difficult circumstances,” he said.
The incident follows another fatal accident in the region this month, when Czech climber Klára Kolouchová died after falling into a ravine at Nanga Parbat’s base camp.
As of late Tuesday, rescue operations were on hold, awaiting a break in the weather to locate Dahlmeier and confirm her condition.
Dahlmeier retired from the sport in 2019, aged 25, a year after becoming the first female biathlete to achieve a sprint and pursuit double at the same Olympics.
The country’s northern mountainous regions have experienced heavy flooding and landslides, killing several local tourists during the current monsoon spell of rains.
Flooding and other rain-related accidents have killed 288 people in Pakistan since the monsoon season began in late June, says the country’s National Disaster Management Authority.
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