According to Bild, rescuers chose not to evacuate the body of two-time Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier from the mountains of Pakistan.
Sources say experts considered recovering the athlete’s body but in the end abandoned the plan. The exact reason for that decision has not been disclosed.
On July 28, the 31-year-old Dahlmeier was caught in a rockfall while climbing Laila Peak (6,096 meters) in the Karakoram range in northwest Pakistan. Her climbing partner managed to call emergency services, but the remote location delayed a rescue helicopter until July 29. Due to the high risk of another collapse, rescuers were unable to reach her. On July 30, the DPA news agency reported Dahlmeier’s death.
Dahlmeier had previously left a written instruction asking that her body be left on the mountain in case of death, to avoid endangering rescuers’ lives.
A two-time Olympic champion from PyeongChang, Dahlmeier also won seven world titles and the 2016-17 World Cup overall. She retired from professional biathlon in May 2019.
