CHILLING video of a Russian climber who is feared dead after being trapped on a mountain shows her saying “I am not afraid of dying”.
Natalia Nagovitsyna, 47, is still stuck on the 25,000ft Pobeda Peak in Kyrgyzstan after his pal died while bringing in essential supplies.
She reportedly fell and broke her leg while scaling Victory Peak on August 12.
Her pal Luca Sinigaglia, 49, tragically died – even after scaling the mountain twice.
His body was later recovered, and doctors suggested he died of cerebral oedema – the swelling of the brain due to excess fluid accumulation.
Authorities have now called off a search and rescue operation as they fear Natalia may be dead.
Now, footage from the 2022 documentary has captured Nagovitsina saying she was “not afraid to die”.
Natalia and her husband, Sergei, climbed Khan-Tengri – the second-highest peak in the Tien Shan mountains.
At one point during the summit, Sergei fell ill, and Natalia was urged to descend and get help.
A rescuer stationed at the base camp advised her, “Natasha, you must descend on your own. There’s nothing you can do to assist him. Do you understand me? Over.”
They even warned her of the severe weather that was approaching, saying it would be impossible to get help at night.
However, Natalia refused to leave her husband alone and decided to stay next to her husband until the next morning.
In the clip, which was shot after the summit, Natalia revealed that her husband is “not well at all” and she chose to be by his side.
She responded: “The thought of dying didn’t scare me. I was terrified of becoming disabled, of getting frostbite so severe that I’d lose my arms and legs. What would I do then?”
“In fact, this is it. Yes, this is the worst punishment. This is what worried me a lot and that we die – no.”
The chilling words have resurfaced as Natalia is feared dead up at 25,000ft.
The Russian Mountaineering Federation warned that a rescue would be a “miracle” as the conditions were making it “almost impossible to save her”.
Alexander Pyatnitsyn, the federation’s vice president, said: “It will be almost impossible to save her.
“There’s a three-kilometre-long ridge, and it takes at least 30 people in such a situation to rescue a person from there.”
Meanwhile, three Italian rescuers were making plans to hire a private helicopter to attempt Natalia’s rescue, but they were still waiting for approval from the president of Kyrgyzstan.
Pobeda Peak – meaning “Victory Peak” in English – stands at a staggering 24,406ft tall.
It is notorious for its extremely harsh and cold conditions, making it one of the most challenging and dangerous climbs in the world.
There are no reports of a climber ever having been rescued at this altitude.
