A bid to save a woman stuck 22,000ft up a mountain with a broken leg has been called off after ten days due to bad weather – and one rescuer died trying to help her.
Russian mountaineer Natalia, also known as Natasha, Nagovitsina, 47, has been trapped at 22,965ft on Victory Peak in Kyrgyzstan, with a summit height of 24,406ft.
Nagovitsina, who is a well-known mountaineer, was reportedly seen moving on drone footage as recently as three days ago.
She was injured on August 12, when her climbing partner helped her as best they could before returning further down the mountain to get help.
But since then temperatures have sunk to minus 23C and multiple rescue attempts have ended in tragedy.
Italian climber Luca Sinigaglia, 49, was one of those who attempted to rescue her and managed to deliver a sleeping bag, tent, food, water and a gas cooker to Nagovitsina.
But repeated efforts to bring her down failed, both by climbing and using a helicopter.
Matters escalated after Sinigaglia himself then died on the mountain from prolonged exposure to low oxygen and hypothermia.
Russian mountaineer Natalia, also known as Natasha, Nagovitsina, 47, has been trapped at 22,965ft on Victory Peak in Kyrgyzstan, with a summit height of 24,406ft
Drone footage filmed four days ago showed clear movement from the sleeping bag she has been sheltering in
Nagovitsina went viral in 2021 after she refused to leave her husband Sergei (right), after he suffered a stroke at 22,000ft
Today a final effort to climb to Nagovitsina was abandoned just 3,600ft below where she is stuck, with the weather set to worsen, as the team were ordered to return to base camp.
Previously attempts involved two separate helicopters, including a defence ministry Mi-8 helicopter which crashed as it sought to rescue her.
Another helicopter, a Mi-17VM, was sent, but zero visibility again forced rescuers to abandon the attempt.
Dmitry Grekov, rescue leader and head of base camp at Victory Peak, said today that experienced mountaineer Vitaly Akimov had led a team seeking to climb to Nagovitsina.
But the crew was forced to turn around when started suffering back pain from the helicopter crash and the mission was abandoned.
Sinigagli, who had also been on the helicopter, was hailed a hero on social media after news of his death reached base camp.
‘I turned the whole group around, there were four of them,’ said Grekov.
Asked if Nagovitsina was still alive, he admitted he did not know but said: ‘I think not, because she has been there since 12 August – count how much time has passed.
Today a final effort to climb to Nagovitsina was abandoned just 3,600ft below where Nagovitsina is stuck, with the weather set to worsen, as the team were ordered to return to base
The Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Emergency Situations confirmed the rescue mission has been called off
‘It is unrealistic. It is unrealistic to survive at such an altitude.’
The Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Emergency Situations confirmed the rescue mission had been called off.
Nagovitsina shot to fame four years ago when she refused orders to leave her husband alone on another mountain after he suffered a stroke at 22,638ft.
He died on the mountain, but she somehow managed to survive the incident in 2021.
Her radio conversion with base camp went viral as she refused to leave husband Sergei Nagovitsin on the mountain, close to the borders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and China.
‘He can’t sit up, falls on his side, his speech is confused,’ she told rescuers.
‘Natasha, you need to go down yourself. You won’t be able to help him in any way. Do you understand me? Over.’
She replied: ‘I understand everything, but I will not leave him alone.’
Previous rescue efforts for the climber failed due to bad weather
The team later told her: ‘You need to go down, Natasha, the weather is getting worse, it’s almost night.’
‘I won’t leave my husband, he’s completely helpless, I’m giving him something to drink.’
‘So, your decision is to spend the night next to him?’
‘Yes.’
Rescuers eventually reached the pair and two men tried to move Sergey while she went down.
But they could not go far, and secured him with ropes, and left all their warm clothing and food, before cutting a route further down the mountain, to get more help.
When they were able to return, he was nowhere to be found.
A report on the incident ruled: ‘Most likely in delirium he broke out of ropes and crashed to his death. His body has never been found.
‘A year later Natalia once again went to Khan Tengri to install a plaque in memory of her husband.
‘But no one in the new group had any idea what this courageous woman had lived through on that summit a year earlier – a woman who showed the whole world what love and self-sacrifice mean.’
His body was never found.
