Laura Dahlmeier, a retired Olympic biathlete from Germany, is presumed dead as a rescue operation to find her was called off after she had a high-elevation mountaineering accident in Pakistan on Monday.
She was 31 years old.
Dahlmeier, a state-certified mountain and ski guide and active member of the mountain rescue service, was struck by falling rocks while descending with a climbing partner from the summit of Laila Peak in the Karakoram Mountains on Monday morning, according to a translation of a German-language press release from her management team.
Her uninjured climbing partner immediately called emergency services. The partner attempted to rescue Dahlmeier for many hours, but it was impossible due to the difficult terrain and ongoing rockfall around 18,700 feet above sea level.
After the partner could not detect any signs of life, she retreated from the dangerous area.
On Tuesday morning, Dahlmeier was spotted by a military helicopter, but no signs of life were detectable. An aerial rescue could not be carried out due to technical and rescue limitations of the helicopter.
A ground rescue was also not possible due to the ongoing rockfall danger and hazards at the accident scene.
The rescue operation was discontinued Tuesday evening due to darkness.
“Recovering the body is too risky for the rescue workers under the current difficult conditions with rockfall and a change in the weather on Laila Peak and is therefore not feasible,” the release stated, according to a translation. “It was Laura Dahlmeier’s express and written will that in a case like this, no one should risk their life to rescue her. Her wish was to leave her body on the mountain in this case. This is also in the spirit of her relatives, who also expressly request that Laura’s final wishes be respected. The family extends its sincere thanks to the rescue team, especially the mountaineers who came to the rescue.”
Dahlmeier won 2018 Olympic gold medals in the 7.5km sprint and 10km pursuit and a bronze in the 15km individual event.
In 2017, she became the first biathlete to win five gold medals at a single World Championships. She won 15 total medals in her senior World Championships career.
She retired from biathlon in 2019.
“With heavy hearts, we bid farewell to Laura Dahlmeier,” the German National Olympic Committee posted. “Her sudden death leaves us speechless. She was more than an Olympic champion — she was a person with heart, conviction, and vision. Your story will live on, Laura.”
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a social media post, “Laura Dahlmeier was an ambassador of our country to the world, a role model for peaceful, happy and fair coexistence across borders. This is how she will be to me, this is how she will remain in the memory of many people in our country.”
