THE body of Olympic athlete Laura Dahlmeier, who was killed in a rockfall while climbing is to be left on the Pakistan mountain where she died.
It is understood the 31-year-old had requested she be left where she fell should recovery put rescuers in danger.
Dahlmeier, winner of a record five gold medals at the Biathlon World Championships in 2017, died on Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountains earlier this week.
Her climbing partner Marina Eva Krauss alerted the authorities, and teams from Germany and the United States attempted to reach her at about 5,700 metres (18,700ft) altitude, but they were driven back as the weather conditions dramatically deteriorated.
One party reached the site of the rockfall on Wednesday evening and confirmed Dahlmeier had passed away.
A statement on the German athlete’s Instagram account explained she had already expressed her wishes that, in the event of her death while climbing, she wanted to be left.
“It was Laura’s clear and written wishes that in an instance such as this, no one should risk their own lives in order to rescue her,” the statement read.
“Her wish was that in this case her body should be left behind on the mountain. This is also in line with the express wishes of the relatives, who have requested Laura’s last wishes be respected.”
Speaking earlier today, Marina Eva Krauss spoke about the heartbreak of witnessing her friend and climbing partner being hit in the rockfall, and of the helplessness of not being able to reach Dahlmeier in the aftermath.
“I saw Laura being hit by a huge rock and then being thrown against the wall, and from that moment on, she didn’t move again.” Krauss recounted.
“It was impossible for me to get there safely. It was clear to me the only way to help her was to call a helicopter. She didn’t move, she didn’t show any signs. I called out to her, but there was no response.
“She only had a chance if help arrived immediately. If we had been there half an hour earlier, we would’ve made it down safely.”
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