
- Natalia Nagovitsyna broke her leg on Victory Peak at about 7,000 metres altitude
- A thermal-imaging drone found no signs of life at Nagovitsyna’s location
- Rescue efforts failed after more than two weeks due to extreme weather conditions
Kyrgyzstan officials on Wednesday said a search for a Russian climber who became stranded on the country's highest peak after breaking her leg more than two weeks ago had found no signs of life.
Natalia Nagovitsyna was climbing the 7,439-metre (24,406-foot) Victory Peak but broke her leg and became stuck at an altitude of around 7,000 metres.
Kyrgyzstan's state security agency said a thermal-imaging drone survey of the area where Nagovitsyna showed no signs she was still alive.
"Based on analysis of the data obtained and taking into account a combination of factors, including extreme weather conditions and the specifics of the area, no signs of life were found at Nagovitsyna's location," it said in a statement.
Several rescue attempts failed to retrieve the 47-year-old climber, who spent more than two weeks in a small orange tent, torn apart by gusting winds, at the mountain top where summer temperatures reach lower than -20C.
An Italian climber, Luca Sinigaglia, died on August 15, trying to reach her. One rescue helicopter crashed, and other attempts had to be called off as climbers became ill and faced extreme weather conditions.
Experts previously said no one has ever been evacuated from such a high altitude on the mountain.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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