Russia’s chief investigator Alexander Bastrykin on Monday ordered his staff to urgently coordinate with emergency officials to rescue climber Natalia Nagovitsyna from a mountain in Kyrgyzstan after local authorities suspended search efforts amid poor weather.
Nagovitsyna, 48, has been stranded at an altitude of about 7,000 meters for two weeks after breaking her leg while descending Victory Peak, the highest mountain in the Tien Shan range, on Aug. 12.
Multiple attempts to rescue her from the mountain have been unsuccessful, with one rescue helicopter crashing in the mountains and an Italian climber dying while trying to save her.
Last Tuesday, Kyrgyz officials said a drone flyover found Nagovitsyna alive in a damaged tent a week after the accident. But experts have since voiced growing doubts about her survival prospects as she runs out of food, water and fuel.
On Monday, her son Mikhail said the drone footage reassured him that she was alive and urged Russian authorities to help carry out another flyover. Russian climbers earlier reported that poor weather had prevented rescuers from relaunching the drone.
Bastrykin intervened after receiving Mikhail’s video appeal on social media, Russia’s Investigative Committee said. He instructed officials to coordinate with Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry and “take comprehensive measures” to assist in the rescue.
Nagovitsyna’s husband, Sergei, died of a stroke in 2021 while climbing Khan Tengri, Central Asia’s second-highest peak, Russian media reported.
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