Former German Olympic champion dies after mountaineering accident in PoK. Here's what we know

Olympic and world champion in biathlon Laura Dahlmeier has passed away at the age of 31, as per her management company. The German athlete was on a trip in the Karakoram mountains in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, when she suffered severe injuries in an accident. Dahlmeier was caught in a rockfall around noon on Monday at an altitude of approximately 5,700 metres, according to her management.

Earlier in the day, rescuers including local mountaineers and porters resumed their efforts on Wednesday (July 30) to reach German Olympic gold medalist Laura Dahlmeier, who is injured, on a peak in the Karakoram mountain range, officials informed. Faizullah Faraq, the spokesperson for the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir Gilgit-Baltistan regional government, said rescuers were in a race against time to reach Dahlmeier despite adverse weather on the Laila Peak, where she has been stranded since Monday after a mountaineering accident.

Dahlmeier, the 2017 women's Biathlon World Cup winner, was ascending Laila Peak in the Karakoram range when she was hit by falling rocks. Mountaineers, including two Americans who were making the same climb, are trying to join the rescue mission. Military helicopters were on standby but have failed to take-off due to poor visibility and continued bad weather and rain, said Faraq.

Dahlmeier, 31 years old, will be brought to the city of Skardu when rescued, Faraq said. Local officials started the rescue operation on Monday after Dahlmeier's climbing partner, Marina Eva, sent out a distress signal that she was able to make her way down to base camp with assistance from rescuers on Tuesday.

Dahlmeier was injured at an altitude of approximately 5,700 metres at about noon on Monday, according to her management team in Germany. German television station ZDF said she was seriously injured in a rockslide. "There is still no news about her condition," Alpine Club of Pakistan Vice President Karrar Haidri was quoted saying to the Associated Press.

"She sustained serious injuries, but she has oxygen with her, and injured climbers have been known to survive for days. With heavy clouds choking the sky and rain falling on the high slopes of Laila Peak, rescuers are pushing through dangerous terrain to reach her," Haidri said.

The area has also been hit by over-normal seasonal rains, which have caused flash floods and landslides. At least 20 Pakistani tourists have gone missing since last week after floodwaters washed them away close to the northern district of Chilas.

Who was Laura Dahlmeier?

With two Olympic gold medals at the Pyeongchang Winter Games in 2018 in South Korea and seven world championships titles overall, Dahlmeier is among the most accomplished German biathletes of this era. She was honoured as German athlete of the year in 2017 but unexpectedly retired in May 2019 at only 25 years old to become a ski and mountain-climbing instructor in her native town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Bavarian Alps.

Since then, Dahlmeier has been involved in some tough mountaineering expeditions, including ascent of the 7,100-meter Korzhenevskaya Peak in Tajikistan in 2023, along with ascent of the 6,800-meter Ama Dablam in Nepal in 2024 in a women's record time. She had been staying in northern Pakistan with friends since the end of June and had already managed to climb the 6,200-meter Great Trango Tower on July 8, her management confirmed, calling Dahlmeier an "experienced and risk-aware climber."

Dahlmeier's uncertain fate has prompted concern both in Germany and around the world. German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday said that he was "deeply concerned" by the “tragic mountaineering accident.”