Hopes fade for injured climber stuck up an icy mountain for 12 days after breaking her leg

Hopes are fading that an injured climber who has been stuck on a mountain in Kyrgyzstan for 12 days after rescue efforts had to be terminated because of bad weather. (Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Hopes are fading that an injured climber who has been stuck on a mountain in Kyrgyzstan for 12 days after rescue efforts had to be terminated because of bad weather.

Natalia Nagovitsyna was descending from the top of Jengish Chokusu, or Victory Peak, at Kyrgyzstan’s border with China, when she broke her leg on August 12.

A spokesperson for Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations told CNN in a message that the experienced mountaineer has been stuck on the mountain ever since despite repeated rescue efforts which also claimed the life of another climber.

A group of climbers managed to reach Nagovitsyna after she suffered her injury, Russian and Italian media report. While they were able to provide her with some supplies, they could not evacuate her due to the extreme conditions on the mountain at that time.

Italian mountaineer Luca Sinigaglia, one of the climbers attempting to save Nagovitsyna, died on the mountain on Aug. 15, according to a statement by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry said that bad weather conditions have so far made it impossible to recover his body.

A surveillance drone last spotted Nagovitsyna on a ridge not far from the top of the mountain on Aug. 19. The emergencies ministry spokesperson told CNN that at that time, she was believed to be alive. The spokesperson refused to comment on whether the ministry believes Nagovitsyna is still alive.

But deteriorating weather conditions, including heavy snowfall, meant the search for Nagovitsyna was suspended on Saturday, the spokesperson said.

At 24,400 feet (7,439 metres) above sea level, the Victory peak is the highest mountain of the Tian Shan range.

It is considered an extremely difficult mountain to climb, partly because of its location. As the word’s northernmost mountain over 7,000 metres, Victory Peak is known for extraordinarily cold and harsh conditions and a very short climbing season.

The mountain is considered one of the so-called Snow Leopard mountains, the five 7,000 peaks in the former Soviet Union. Climbing all five is considered a major achievement, and only some 700 people, including some 30 women, have done that.

Nagovitsyna’s husband Sergei Nagovitsyn died during an expedition to Khan-Tengri, another of the five Snow Leopard peaks. Natalia was with him during the climb when he became incapacitated. Reports say she refused to leave him until rescuers arrived.

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN