Latest news with #FrankWalterSteinmeier
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
German biathlete confirmed dead in Pakistan climbing accident
German biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has died on a mountain in northern Pakistan after a climbing accident at a remote site that rescuers struggled to reach because of bad weather, a local government spokesman said on Wednesday. Dahlmeier, an Olympic gold medallist, was ascending Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountain range on Monday when she was struck by falling rocks while climbing with a partner who survived. Rescuers were able to confirm Dahlmeier's death on Wednesday but could not retrieve the body because of unfavourable weather, said Faizullah Faraq, a spokesman for the regional Gilgit-Baltistan government. Any final decision on retrieving the body would follow the wishes of Dahlmeier's family, Faraq said. A statement on Dahlmeier's social media page said it had been her wish that nobody risk their life to recover her body after an accident. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier offered his condolences to Dahlmeier's parents, writing that she 'was an exceptional sportswoman'. He recalled that he presented her with the highest honour in German sport, the Silver Laurel Leaf, shortly after she won her first Olympic gold medal in 2018. 'Laura Dahlmeier was an ambassador for our country in the world, a role model for peaceful, cheerful and fair coexistence across borders,' he said.
ABC News
11 hours ago
- Sport
- ABC News
Laura Dahlmeier, 2018 Winter Olympics biathlon gold medallist, dies climbing mountain in Pakistan
German biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has died on a mountain in northern Pakistan after a climbing accident, according to a local government spokesperson. Dahlmeier, a two-time Winter Olympic gold medallist, was ascending Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountain range on Monday when she was struck by falling rocks. She had been climbing with a partner who survived. Rescuers were able to confirm the 31-year-old's death but not retrieve the body because of unfavourable weather, said Faizullah Faraq, a spokesperson for the regional Gilgit-Baltistan government. Any final decision on retrieving the body would follow the wishes of Dahlmeier's family, he said. A statement on Dahlmeier's Instagram page said it had been her wish that nobody risk their life to recover her body after an accident. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier offered his condolences to Dahlmeier's parents, writing that she "was an exceptional sportswoman". He recalled that he presented her with the highest honour in German sport, the Silver Laurel Leaf, shortly after the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, where she became the first woman to win the 7.5 kilometre sprint and 10km pursuit biathlon gold medals at one Games. Do you have a story idea about women in sport? Email us abcsport5050@ "Laura Dahlmeier was an ambassador for our country in the world, a role model for peaceful, cheerful and fair coexistence across borders," he said. Dahlmeier's death came two weeks after Norwegian Olympic ski cross bronze medallist Audun Grønvold died after being struck by lightning. Authorities launched a rescue mission after receiving a distress signal from Dahlmeier's climbing partner, Marina Eva, who managed to descend to base camp with help from rescuers on Tuesday. Dahlmeier's partner had tried for several hours to rescue her, but that was not possible because of the difficult terrain and persistent rockfall, the statement on Dahlmeier's Instagram page said. "Her partner, who could no longer hear any signs of life, eventually decided to leave the danger zone and resume her descent," according to the statement. It was Dahlmeier's express wish "that in a case like this, no-one should risk their life to recover her," the statement said. It said Dahlmeier's family thanked the rescue team and climbers, who did their best to make her rescue possible. Bodies of foreign climbers who die attempting to summit mountains in Pakistan are typically recovered at the request of their families, but if the family declines a rescue, the remains are left at the spot where the climber died. Dahlmeier was injured at an altitude of about 5,700 metres at about noon on Monday, according to her management team in Germany. Military helicopters were on stand-by to assist in any rescue but were unable to deploy because of bad weather, Mr Faraq said. Dahlmeier won seven gold, three silver and five bronze medals at Biathlon World Championships, along with 20 World Cup races and the overall World Cup in the 2016-17 season, according to her website. She won gold medals in the sprint and pursuit races at the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018 and the bronze medal in the individual competition. Dahlmeier ended her biathlon career in 2019, when she was 25. She grew up in the German Alps and turned to mountaineering challenges after ending her biathlon career. She had been a state-certified mountain and ski guide since 2023 and volunteered for the Garmisch-Partenkirchen mountain rescue team. AP
Al Jazeera
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Al Jazeera
German biathlete Laura Dahlmeier dies in a climbing accident in Pakistan
German biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has died on a mountain in northern Pakistan after a climbing accident at a remote site that rescuers struggled to reach because of bad weather, a local government spokesman has said. Dahlmeier, an Olympic gold medallist, was ascending Laila Peak in the Karakoram Mountains on Monday when she was struck by falling rocks while climbing with a partner who survived. Rescuers were able to confirm Dahlmeier's death on Wednesday but were not able to retrieve the body because of unfavourable weather, said Faizullah Faraq, a spokesman for the regional Gilgit-Baltistan government. Any final decision on retrieving the body would follow the wishes of Dahlmeier's family, Faraq said. A statement on Dalhmeier's Instagram page said it had been her wish that nobody risk their life to recover her body after an accident. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier offered his condolences to Dahlmeier's parents, writing that she 'was an exceptional sportswoman'. He recalled that he presented her with the highest honour in German sport, the Silver Laurel Leaf, shortly after she won her first Olympic gold medal in 2018. 'Laura Dahlmeier was an ambassador for our country in the world, a role model for peaceful, cheerful and fair coexistence across borders,' he said. Authorities launched the rescue mission Monday after receiving a distress signal from Dahlmeier's climbing partner, Marina Eva, who managed to descend to base camp with help from rescuers on Tuesday. Dahlmeier's partner had tried for several hours to rescue her, but that wasn't possible because of the difficult terrain and persistent rockfall, the statement on Dahlmeier's Instagram page said. 'Her partner, who could no longer hear any signs of life, eventually decided to leave the danger zone and resume her descent,' according to the statement. It was Dahlmeier's express wish 'that in a case like this, no one should risk their life to recover her', the statement said, calling for that wish to be respected. It said Dahlmeier's family members thank the rescue team and climbers, who did their best to make her rescue possible. Bodies of foreign climbers who die attempting to summit mountains in Pakistan are typically recovered at the request of their families, but if the family declines a rescue, the remains are left at the spot where the climber died. Dahlmeier, age 31, was injured at an altitude of about 5,700 metres (18,700 feet) around noon Monday, according to her management team in Germany. Dahlmeier had been in the region with friends since the end of June. The 6,069-metre (20,000-foot) Laila Peak was the second peak on her tour after she climbed the 6,287-metre (20,626-foot) Great Trango Tower on July 8. Military helicopters were on standby to assist in any rescue, but have been unable to deploy because of bad weather, Faraq said. Climbers including two Americans have been attempting the same ascent done by Dahlmeier to try to join the rescue operation, he said. Dahlmeier won seven gold, three silver and five bronze medals at the Biathlon World Championships, along with 20 World Cup races and the overall World Cup in the 2016-17 season, according to her website. She won gold medals in the sprint and pursuit races at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018 and the bronze medal in the individual competition. Dahlmeier ended her biathlon career in 2019, when she was 25. She grew up in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the German Alps and turned to mountaineering challenges after ending her biathlon career. She had been a state-certified mountain and ski guide since 2023 and volunteered for the Garmisch-Partenkirchen mountain rescue team. Hundreds of climbers try to scale mountains in northern Pakistan every year, and accidents are common because of avalanches and sudden weather changes. The region has also been battered by above-normal seasonal rains, triggering flash floods and landslides. Since last week, at least 20 Pakistani tourists have been missing after floodwaters swept them away near the northern district of Chilas.
CBC
16 hours ago
- Sport
- CBC
2018 Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier killed in climbing accident in Pakistan
German biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has died on a mountain in northern Pakistan after a climbing accident at remote site that rescuers struggled to reach because of bad weather, a local government spokesman said Wednesday. Dahlmeier, an Olympic gold medallist, was ascending Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountain range on Monday when she was struck by falling rocks while climbing with a partner who survived. Rescuers were able to confirm Dahlmeier's death on Wednesday but not retrieve the body because of unfavorable weather, said Faizullah Faraq, a spokesman for the regional Gilgit-Baltistan government. Any final decision on retrieving the body would follow the wishes of Dahlmeier's family, Faraq said. A statement on Dalhmeier's Instagram page said it had been her wish that nobody risk their life to recover her body after an accident. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier offered his condolences to Dahlmeier's parents, writing that she "was an exceptional sportswoman." He recalled that he presented her with the highest honor on German sport, the Silver Laurel Leaf, shortly after she won her first Olympic gold medal in 2018. German president mourns 'ambassador' for country "Laura Dahlmeier was an ambassador for our country in the world, a role model for peaceful, cheerful and fair coexistence across borders," he said. Authorities launched the rescue mission Monday after receiving a distress signal from Dahlmeier's climbing partner, Marina Eva, who managed to descend to base camp with help from rescuers Tuesday. Dahlmeier's partner had tried for several hours to rescue her, but that wasn't possible because of the difficult terrain and persistent rockfall, the statement on Dahlmeier's Instagram page said. "Her partner, who could no longer hear any signs of life, eventually decided to leave the danger zone and resume her descent," according to the statement. It was Dahlmeier's express wish "that in a case like this, no one should risk their life to recover her," the statement said, calling for that wish to be respected. It said Dahlmeier's family thank the rescue team and climbers, who did their best to make her rescue possible. Bodies of foreign climbers who die attempting to summit mountains in Pakistan are typically recovered at the request of their families, but if the family declines a rescue, the remains are left at the spot where the climber died. Dahlmeier was injured at an altitude of about 5,700 meters (18,700 feet) around noon Monday, according to her management team in Germany. Was on climbing tour Dahlmeier had been in the region with friends since the end of June. The 6,069-metre Laila Peak was the second peak on her tour after she climbed the 6,287-meter Great Trango Tower on July 8. Military helicopters were on standby to assist in any rescue but have been unable to deploy because of bad weather, Faraq said. Climbers including two Americans have been attempting the same ascent done by Dahlmeier to try to join the rescue operation, he said. Dahlmeier won seven gold, three silver and five bronze medals at Biathlon World Championships, along with 20 World Cup races and the overall World Cup in the 2016-17 season, according to her website. She won gold medals in the sprint and pursuit races at the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018 and the bronze medal in the individual competition. Dahlmeier ended her biathlon career in 2019, when she was 25. She grew up in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the German Alps and turned to mountaineering challenges after ending her biathlon career. She had been a state-certified mountain and ski guide since 2023 and volunteered for the Garmisch-Partenkirchen mountain rescue team. Hundreds of climbers try to scale mountains in northern Pakistan every year and accidents are common because of avalanches and sudden weather changes. The region has also been battered by above-normal seasonal rains, triggering flash floods and landslides. Since last week, at least 20 Pakistani tourists have been missing after floodwaters swept them away near the northern district of Chilas.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Olympic biathlon gold medalist Laura Dahlmeier dies after climbing accident
German biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has died following a climbing accident on a mountain peak in northern Pakistan. Dahlmeier was 31 years old. Authorities said that workers are attempting to retrieve her body, as bad weather has prevented helicopters from reaching the site. But her management said that Dahlmeier's body will not be recovered: "It was Laura Dahlmeier's express and written will that in a case like this, no one should risk their life to rescue her. Her wish was to leave her body on the mountain in this case." "Laura Dahlmeier was killed on July 28th in a rockfall accident at 5700 m on Laila Peak (6069 m) in the Pakistani Karakoram Mountains. The rescue operation was unsuccessful and was called off on the evening of July 29th," her representatives told the Die Welt newspaper. On Monday, Dahlmeier was on the 6,069-meter-high Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountain range with her climbing partner, Marina Eva, when she was hit by falling rocks. Eva sent a distress signal and was rescued, making it back to the base camp on Tuesday. "Like so many people in our country, I feared for Laura Dahlmeier until the very end and hoped that she might still be rescued alive after her tragic mountain accident in Pakistan. I can only imagine the depth of your pain and despair. I express my deepest condolences to you, all of her family and friends," German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement offering his condolences to Dahlmeier's parents. "Laura Dahlmeier was an ambassador for our country around the world, a role model for peaceful, joyful, and fair coexistence across borders. That's how I, and many people in our country, will remember her." Dahlmeier won gold medals in the 7.5 km sprint and the 10 km pursuit races at the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018 and a bronze medal in the 15 km individual competition, becoming the first female biathlete to achieve a sprint and pursuit double at the same Olympics. She retired from competition in 2019, but not before winning 15 medals, including seven goals during five World Championships. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Laura Dahlmeier: Olympic gold medalist dies in climbing accident
