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German biathlete confirmed dead after accident on Pakistan mountain / Photo: Jonathan NACKSTRAND - AFP/File
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German biathlete confirmed dead after accident on Pakistan mountain
German double biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier was confirmed dead on Wednesday after she was seriously injured by a rockfall on a Pakistani mountain.
The dangerous nature of the site made rescue efforts "impossible", her agency said in a statement issued on Wednesday, which confirmed her death.
"Rescue efforts to recover her failed and the operation was suspended," the statement continued.
The accident happened around midday on Monday at an altitude of 5,700 metres (18,700 feet) on Laila Peak in the Karakoram range, according to a statement from her team on her official social media pages.
Dahlmeier's climbing partner was able to sound the alarm after reaching safety.
"It was determined that a helicopter rescue is not possible," Areeb Ahmed Mukhtar, a senior local official in Ghanche district, where the more than 6,000 metre mountain is located, told AFP earlier on Wednesday.
"The conditions at the altitude where she was injured are extremely challenging," he added.
Shipton Trek & Tours Pakistan, which organised the expedition, confirmed the ground rescue by a team of four that includes three Americans and a German mountaineer.
The 31-year-old was "hit by falling rocks," her team said on Tuesday, adding no one had yet been able to reach her due to the danger of further rockfalls and the site's "remoteness".
Earlier, a helicopter managed to fly over the location and rescuers saw that "the experienced mountaineer is at least seriously injured", it said.
"No signs of life were detected."
Muhammad Ali, a local disaster management official, told AFP that weather conditions have been "extremely harsh" in the region for the past week, with rain, strong winds and thick clouds.
Dahlmeier, an experienced mountaineer, had been in the region since the end of June and had already ascended the Great Trango Tower.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued a statement on Wednesday calling Dahlmeier "an ambassador for our country around the world (and) a role model for peaceful, joyful, and fair coexistence across borders."
She won seven world championship gold medals, and at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang she became the first female biathlete to win both the sprint and the pursuit at the same Games.
Dahlmeier retired from professional competition in 2019 at the age of 25.
She went on to become a commentator on biathlon events for German broadcaster ZDF, and also took up mountaineering.
She was a certified mountain and ski guide and an active member of the mountain rescue, according to her team.
P.Beaulieu--SMC
