In Kyrgyzstan, Russian climber Natalia Nagovitsina was declared presumed dead after searches, using a thermal imaging drone, found no signs of life on the country's highest peak, Pobedа Peak (Victory Peak).
"Natalia Nagovitsina died at Victory Peak in Kyrgyzstan," – Medusa quotes Eduard Kubatov, president of the country's Mountaineering and Climbing Federation.
According to him, on September 2, the place where the climber was twice examined from the air using a drone, but no signs of life were found.
After that, the rescue operation was officially terminated.
Kubatov stressed that at an altitude of 7,200 meters in the history of climbing Victory Peak, it has not yet been possible to conduct a single successful rescue operation.
A week ago, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic recognized Nagovitsina as missing.
On August 12, the 47-year-old athlete broke her leg while climbing the 7,439-meter peak and found herself trapped at an altitude of about 7,000 meters, with only limited water supplies.
Attempts to evacuate her were made three times, but all were unsuccessful. During one of them, the Italian climber Luca Sinigilla died.
Nagovitsina's husband Sergey died in 2021 at another peak in Kyrgyzstan, Khan Tengri. At an altitude of 6900 meters, the climber suffered a stroke. Nagovitsina, who accompanied her husband, despite the persuasions of rescuers, refused to leave her husband alone on the mountain and descend. As a result, Sergey died, and Natalia was saved. A year later, she climbed to the top again and erected a plaque in memory of her husband.
Victory Peak, with a height of 7,439 meters, is considered the highest point of the Tien Shan mountain system, located on the border with China. This is one of the most difficult peaks in the world and is considered the deadliest of the seven thousand meters in terms of the ratio of the number of ascents and deaths of climbers.
