By Charles Pemu Double Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has tragically died at the age of 31 following a climbing accident on Pakistan’s Laila Peak. Her management and the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) confirmed her death to CNN Sports.
Dahlmeier, a retired German biathlete, was struck by falling rocks around midday local time on Monday while ascending the peak in the Karakoram mountain range. Her team announced the devastating news via Instagram on Tuesday.
“The DOSB and the whole of German sport mourn the loss of Laura Dahlmeier,” said Thomas Weikert, President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, in a statement to CNN Sports. “We are deeply shocked by the sudden and much too early death of this wonderful person. Our thoughts are with her family and friends, and we will offer our support wherever we can. Laura was a role model and inspiration to so many of us in and out of sport. She always had clear goals in mind and pursued her dreams.”
A rescue operation was launched on Monday after Dahlmeier’s climbing partner, Marina Eva, sent a distress signal. However, severe weather conditions and low visibility hampered efforts to deploy military helicopters, according to Faizullah Faraq, a spokesman for the regional Gilgit-Baltistan government, as reported by the Associated Press. Dahlmeier’s team also noted that due to the remote location, a rescue helicopter could only reach the accident scene and observe her on Tuesday morning.