The head of Kyrgyzstan’s mountaineering federation says another high-altitude drone inspection of a mountain ridge where injured Russian climber Natalya Nagovitsyna was stranded failed to show any “signs of life.”
The announcement by Eduard Kubatov was expected because few people had held out hope that Nagovitsyna was still alive on Pobeda Peak, Kyrgyzstan’s highest mountain at 7,439 meters above sea level. She broke a leg high on the mountain on August 12 and subsequent efforts to rescue her failed in extremely difficult conditions, placing other climbers and officials at risk.
The drone fly-by on Tuesday and the involvement in the operation of Kubatov, who had recently returned from an ascent of K2 mountain in Pakistan without supplementary oxygen, appeared to be a last attempt to address any lingering doubts about Nagovitsyna’s fate. Accompanied by a rescue mountaineer and a drone operator, Kubatov flew by helicopter to South Inylchek base camp at Pobeda Peak to participate in the search. Further rescue efforts were “inappropriate,” they said in a signed letter.
“All rescue operations have been stopped, and we must acknowledge this sad fact for all of us. All video materials from the inspection (over 10 minutes) will be handed personally to Natalya’s son,” Kubatov said on Instagram.
Saying that “we must state that there are no signs of life” from Nagovitsyna, Kubatov also posted drone footage that showed an orange tent on snow at the foot of a rock face, high on Pobeda. The surface of the tent rippled lightly in the wind, but it was impossible to see inside.
On August 19, a drone filmed movement at the same tent, where Nagovitsyna had stayed as other climbers tried to get help. One of those climbers, Italian Luca Sinigaglia, fell ill and died. Kyrgyz security officials said another drone flight on August 27 did not show any movement at the site.
“The Kyrgyz side did everything possible to organize the rescue of the mountaineer, but the extreme altitude, the harsh weather conditions, the hard helicopter landing, and the physical state of the rescuers did not allow us to achieve the hoped-for results,” Kubatov said. “In the history of Pobeda, there has not been a single successful rescue operation at an altitude of 7,200 meters, and we had no right to further risk the lives of the mountaineer rescuers.”
Victoria Bonya, a Russian model, entertainer and mountaineering enthusiast, helped to organize the drone mission on Tuesday.
Bonya said Nagovitsyna “has passed away in peace.”
