The search for the missing German Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier resumed on Wednesday, two days after the 31-year-old was caught in a rockslide high up in the mountains of northern Pakistan.
"As of today, ground rescue operations are underway," Karar Haideri, the Vice-President of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told DW on Wednesday.
Haideri confirmed that two teams comprising four international climbers — three Americans and one German — and two local high-altitude porters had set out on the rescue mission, which had been delayed and complicated by adverse weather conditions since the accident.
He explained that Pakistani military helicopters remained grounded due to low visibility, rain, and strong winds.
"Laura remains stranded at high altitude and chances of her survival are 50-50," he said. "Her survival depends on the mercy of the weather."
Laura Dahlmeier: what's happened?
Dahlmeier, a double Olympic and seven-time biathlon world champion who ended her professional career in 2019, was on Monday swept away by rocks at an altitude of around 5,700 meters (18,700 feet) while ascending the 6,069-meter high Laila Peak.
Dahlmeier's climbing partner, Marina Eva, sent a distress signal and was on Tuesday able to descend to base camp with the help of rescuers. But Dahlmeier remained injured and inaccessible on the mountain.
"A helicopter fly-over established that the experienced climber has at the very least sustained serious injury," wrote the athlete's management on Instagram on Tuesday. "Signs of life were not recognizable."
"There is still no clarity on her condition," Haideri told the Associated Press. "She sustained serious injuries, but she has oxygen with her, and injured climbers have been known to survive for days.
"With heavy clouds choking the sky and rain falling on the high slopes of Laila Peak, rescuers are pushing through dangerous terrain to reach her," he added.
But Areeb Ahmed Mukhtar, a high-ranking local official, said rescue efforts were proving difficult, telling the AFP news agency: "It became clear that a rescue by helicopter wouldn't be possible. The conditions at the altitude at which she was injured are extremely difficult."
Hence the ground rescue attempt, including the renowned German climber Thomas Huber, which set out on Wednesday.
Who is Laura Dahlmeier?
With two Olympic gold medals at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and a total of seven world championship titles, Dahlmeier is one of the most successful German biathletes of this century.
She was named German athlete of the year in 2017 but surprisingly ended her career in May 2019 at the age of just 25 in order to become a mountain-climbing and ski instructor in her home town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Bavarian Alps.
Since then, Dahlmeier has taken part in several challenging mountaineering expeditions, including up the 7,100-meter Korzhenevskaya Peak in Tajikistan in 2023, plus an ascent of the 6,800-meter Ama Dablam in Nepal in 2024 in a women's record time.
She had been in northern Pakistan with friends since the end of June and had successfully climbed the 6,200-meter Great Trango Tower on July 8, her management confirmed, describing Dahlmeier as an "experienced and risk-aware climber."
Dahlmeier's uncertain fate has prompted concern both in Germany and around the world.
German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Wednesday that he was "deeply concerned" by the "tragic mountaineering accident." He thanked the rescue teams for their efforts and said he "hopes sincerely that Laura Dahlmeier will soon be rescued."
The International Biathlon Union (IBU) said its thoughts were with Dahlmeier and her family and hoped for "good news" soon.
