The 'final' attempt to rescue a Russian mountain climber, who has been trapped atop Victory Peak for nearly two weeks, has been called off.
Natalia Nagovitsina has been stuck almost 23,000 ft above sea level after breaking her leg and rendering it impossible for her to descend down the mountain in Kyrgyzstan.
Ever since it was reported that the Russian was trapped up there, authorities have worked to bring her back, though rescue attempts to find Nagovitsina have proved unsuccessful.
Helicopters and drones have been utilised to try and find the 47-year-old, though they have largely been put on hold since Italian climber Luca Sinigaglia made the journey to deliver the freezing climber a sleeping bag, before dying from prolonged exposure to low oxygen and hypothermia.
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One helicopter crashed, while another was flying in zero visibility, and it looks like the 'last' attempt made to rescue the woman has been abandoned.
The head of the Kyrgyz Mountaineering Federation has said it was 'highly likely' that Nagovitsina, who was suffering in freezing cold -23C temperatures, had died.
While footage on 19 August showed the mountaineer 'waving' at a drone sent to monitor her wellbeing, the unforgiving weather was also seen.
News has now broke that a special light helicopter and an Italian crew, who were ready to fly on Monday evening, have left the region.
A Russian mountaineering portal said via MailOnline: "The rescue mission on Mount Pobeda was officially brought to an end.
"The Italian pilots have departed. Weather conditions remain poor."
The head of the mountaineers' base camp, Dmitry Grekov, admitted that there was no chance of a rescue, noting that Nagovitsina's exact location was in an area with such dire weather conditions that her death couldn't be confirmed.
SOTA Telegram channel further reported: "The last attempt to save Russian mountaineer Natalia Nagovitsina, who broke her leg at over 7,000 metres on Mount Pobeda, has failed.
"The Ministry of Emergency Situations had planned to use a drone to check for signs of life, followed by deployment of a light Airbus Helicopters H125.
"However, the expected weather 'window' never opened."
Adil Chargynov, a representative of Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Emergency Situations, confirmed: "Today the helicopter was returned to its permanent base.
"Italian pilots, brought in for their high-altitude experience, are now returning home."
It's said that the body would only possibly be recovered in the springtime.
Topics: World News, Russia
Joshua Nair