Son of climber stuck 24,000ft up mountain with broken leg claims she is ‘still alive’ as rescue is abandoned
The son of the Russian mountain climber who has been trapped atop Victory Peak for two weeks has pleaded with authorities to resume rescue efforts.
A last-ditch attempt to save Natalia Nagovitsina was abandoned earlier today (26 August), with officials stating it was highly unlikely she would have survived the freezing temperatures.
However, her son, Mikhail, believes his mother is 'still alive' and he is now urging rescuers to try and retrieve her once again.
The 27-year-old has called on Vladimir Putin's government to organise another rescue mission - despite several previous attempts turning perilous.
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Natalia has been stuck almost 23,000ft above sea level for the last fortnight in temperatures as low as -23C after breaking her leg on 12 August while scaling Victory Peak in Kyrgyzstan.
Officials have been keeping tabs on the experienced mountain climber, 47, with helicopters and drones, and according to Mikhail, footage taken on 19 August showed her moving and 'waving'.
"In the video I received, it is clearly visible that seven days after losing contact, she is actively waving her hand, full of strength," Natalia's son said.
Efforts to save the Russian native have been hampered by harsh weather conditions, as well as the danger posed to those involved in the rescue.
Italian climber Luca Sinigaglia bravely made the journey to deliver the freezing climber a sleeping bag before dying from prolonged exposure to low oxygen and hypothermia.
Other attempts to rescue Natalia, both via climbing and helicopter pursuit, have failed - with a defence ministry helicopter Mi-8 crashing and another chopper being forced to fly back down due to the bad weather.
After news broke that officials in Kyrgyzstan were permanently pressing pause on rescue efforts this morning, Mikhail made a public plea for Russian officials to step in.
"I request that the search be resumed," he said. "My mother is an experienced climber...and is also in very good shape.
"I am sure that she is alive and wants the search to be resumed."
Mikhail believes that at the bare minimum, officials should organise another drone flight over Victory Peak to check for signs of life.
Calling on Russia to take action, he said: "I ask for assistance in organising aerial video shooting of the Peak Pobeda [the Russian name for Victory Peak] area using drones to confirm the fact that she is alive.
"If this fact is confirmed, then organise a rescue operation."
Mikhail also raised questions about the 'weather window' which rescuers in Kyrgyzstan had been 'waiting for'.
"[On] 25th August, the forecast predicted good weather," he continued. "But there was no good weather on the mountain.
"And they continued to wait for a weather window - but this morning, the entire rescue operation was disbanded, and the reason is unknown. This fact alarms me."
The vice president of the Kyrgyz Mountaineering Federation, Ilim Karypbekov, explained that conditions were 'not favourable' for another rescue attempt, hence why it was called off.
He explained: "Professional pilots flew in from Italy. But when they flew to the area by helicopter, the weather was not favourable. Before that, they invited a drone pilot who was ordered to probe the area, but it was not possible.
"And the forecast said that in the coming week, five or six days, the weather would not be stable enough to fly a helicopter, let alone a drone. So they called it off.
"They saw that there was no point in waiting that long. No one could survive that long. They decided that it was pointless to wait any longer. In the end, it became clear that they would only be able to reach Natalia next season."
Topics: Russia, World News, Extreme Sports
Olivia Burke