Skardu:
The authorities have abandoned efforts to recover the body of the German Olympic Biatteleta Laura Dahlmeier, who died in a mountaineering accident in Pakistan this week.
Dahlmeier was confirmed dead on Wednesday, after being beaten by the fall of rocks while rising at an altitude of 5,700 meters (18,700 feet) in Laila Peak in the Karakoram range.
The attempts to recover his body were abandoned, Dahlmeier’s management agency said Thursday.
Several of Dahlmeier’s colleagues confirmed that the two -time Olympic gold medalist had said that he did not want his body to recover if he put a possible rescuer at risk.
The German mountaineer Thomas Huber was part of a team that had tried a rescue, but told journalists on Thursday: “We have decided that it should stay, because that was his desire.”
Another member of the rescue team, the American Jackson Marvel told AFP that it would be “disrespectful” to recover his body against his wishes.
Marvel said that “Laura’s body recovery will be possible, but implies incredible risks, both on foot and by helicopter.”
Dahlmeier’s climbing companion, Marina Krauss, who was with her at the time of the incident, said at a press conference on Thursday that the former Olympic did not move after being caught in a rock fall.
“I saw Laura being beaten by a huge rock and then was thrown against the wall. And from that moment, she did not move again,” Krauss told journalists.
Krauss said he couldn’t get to Dahlmeier and requested external support.
“It was impossible for me to get there safely.
“It was clear to me that the only way to help her was to call a helicopter. He did not move, he showed no signal (movement). I called her, but there was no answer.”
Dahlmeier won seven gold medals of the World Championship, and at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang he became the first Biatleta woman to win the Sprint and the search in the same games.
