The search for renowned climber Natalia Nagovitsyna has been put on hold due to adverse weather conditions, following an attempt to reach her that tragically ended in another climber’s death.
Natalia Nagovitsyna was descending from the summit of Jengish Chokusu, also known as Victory Peak, on August 12 when she suffered a leg injury and became immobilized.
A group of climbers on this mountain, which is located at the border of Kyrgyzstan and China, managed to reach Nagovitsyna and provided her with essential supplies. However, they were unable to assist her descent due to the severe weather conditions prevailing at the time.
For almost two weeks, efforts to rescue Nagovitsyna have been ongoing, involving helicopter missions and an attempt by Italian mountaineer Luca Sinigaglia to deliver necessary supplies.
Per The New Zealand Herald, Kyrgyz authorities reported that a rescue helicopter crashed in the mountains during the rescue mission.
In a tragic development, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Sinigaglia passed away on the mountain on August 15. Poor weather has so far hindered efforts to retrieve his body.
Victory Peak stands at an elevation of 24,400 feet, making it the tallest mountain in the Tian Shan range.
CNN reported that on August 19, Nagovitsyna was seen via a surveillance drone not far from the mountain’s peak. A spokesperson for Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations expressed confidence that she was still alive at that time.
However, on Saturday, August 23, the search for Nagovitsyna was halted as worsening weather, including heavy snow, continued to pose challenges. Nighttime temperatures at Victory Peak’s summit are reportedly around -30C (-22F).
Adil Chargynov from Kyrgyzstan’s emergency situations ministry stated: “Weather conditions deteriorated sharply, so all rescue operations have been suspended.”
According to The NZ Herald, Dmitry Grekov, head of the Victory Peak base camp, shared with Russian news agency TASS that rescuers are aware of Nagovitsyna’s location but remarked: “It’s impossible to get there.”
Grekov noted that no previous evacuations have been conducted from such a high altitude on the mountain, saying: “It’s impossible to do it manually, only by helicopter, and we don’t have such helicopters in Kyrgyzstan.”
The ongoing rescue attempts for Nagovitsyna follow her previous news-making incident when her husband, Sergei Nagovitsyn, was incapacitated during a climb on another mountain, Khan-Tengri.
Nagovitsyna was present with Sergei during the incident and stayed by his side until rescuers arrived, though sadly, Sergei passed away on the mountain.