Olympic Gold Medalist Is Injured, Stranded on Mountain

An Olympic gold medalist from Germany who was injured while attempting to scale a peak in northern Pakistan is stranded on the mountain and search teams were forced to abort efforts to reach her after sunset on Tuesday, officials said. Laura Dahlmeier, a biathlete (a winter sport that pairs cross-country skiing and rifle shooting) who also won the 2017 women's biathlon World Cup, was seriously injured on Monday while ascending Laila Peak in Pakistan's Karakoram mountain range.

Another rescue attempt will get underway with the help of helicopters after dawn on Wednesday, according to Faizullah Faraq, a spokesperson for the Gilgit-Baltistan regional government. He could not provide further details on Dahlmeier's condition. In Germany, Dahlmeier's management told the broadcaster ZDF that she was seriously injured in a rockfall at an altitude of about 18,700 feet around noon on Monday. "Due to the remoteness of the area, a helicopter was only able to reach the site of the accident on the morning of July 29," the statement said. The 31-year-old's rope partner, Marina Eva, was also struck by falling rocks. Eva managed to descend to base camp with help from rescuers on Tuesday.

The German news agency dpa said Dahlmeier and Eva were climbing in alpine style when the accident occurred. The VP of the Pakistan Alpine Club told the AP that Dahlmeier sustained "serious injuries" and that Pakistani military helicopters were helping in coordinated rescue efforts. Reuters reports Dahlmeier retired from the sport in 2019 at the age of 25; the previous year she became the first female biathlete to win the sprint and pursuit double at the same Olympics.