Victory Peak became a lonely place for Natalia Nagovitsina, a 47-year-old Russian climber feared dead by authorities in Kyrgyzstan. The efforts to save the climber, who has been stranded since August 12 with a broken leg, have now been abandoned, despite recent evidence that she was still alive.
Nagovitsina’s son is pleading for additional search efforts, but so far, the efforts have not gone well. Extreme weather on the 22,965-foot peak have thwarted rescue crews on all fronts. Sadly, one person who was able to reach the injured climber and deliver supplies to her died on his way back down. Since then, a helicopter attempting to reach her crashed, injuring people on board.
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Luca Sinigaglia, an Italian climber who reportedly knew Nagovitsina, was the person who reached her on August 15. He delivered supplies, including a tent, food, water and a sleeping bag, but he couldn’t safely bring her down by himself. He died from hypothermia and “prolonged exposure to low oxygen levels” during his descent from the mountain.
Last week, officials were able to get a drone up to where Nagovitsina is stuck. The haunting footage from that drone showed her moving around in the sleeping bag Sinigaglia brought her. Officials say they’ve called off the rescue effort because it’s very unlikely that she is still alive.
Learn more about the climber, stranded and abandoned on a Kyrgyzstan peak, here:
Header stock image of mountains in Kyrgyzstan by Roman Blokhin/Getty Images