A 47-year-old Russian mountaineer remains stranded at nearly 23,000 feet on Victory Peak in Kyrgyzstan after authorities called off rescue operations on Friday.
Natalia “Natasha” Nagovitsina broke her leg during a descent on August 12 and has been trapped at 22,965 feet for nearly two weeks. Drone footage confirmed on August 19 that she was still alive inside a damaged tent.
Multiple rescue attempts using helicopters and ground teams have failed due to freezing winds and persistent blizzards. Officials announced the suspension of efforts on August 23, citing impossible conditions.
The rescue mission has already claimed one life. Italian climber Luca Sinigaglia reached Nagovitsina with food, water, and shelter before dying from hypothermia just a few hundred metres away.
Victory Peak, standing at 24,406 feet in Kyrgyzstan’s Tian Shan mountain range, is considered one of the world’s most dangerous climbing destinations. At such extreme altitude, climbers face severe oxygen deprivation and temperatures below minus 40 degrees Celsius.
Kyrgyzstan’s emergency services have not indicated whether rescue attempts might resume if weather conditions improve. The incident adds to Victory Peak’s reputation as a technically challenging climb where survival is often measured in hours.
