BERLIN: German biathlete and double Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier has been at least seriously injured in a mountaineering accident in Pakistan, German media reports citing her management and a Pakistan government spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The accident occurred on Monday when Dahlmeier was hit by a landslide in Hushe Valley in the northern mountain range in Gilgit-Baltistan, said spokesperson Faizullah Faraq.
Germany’s ZDF broadcaster reported that no emergency response had so far reached her.
But Faraq said Dahlmeier, according to reports from the remote valley, was taken away by locals from the landslide site.
One of her companions, identified as Kraus Marina Eva, was still stuck at the site, he said.
Dahlmeier retired from the sport in 2019, aged 25, a year after becoming the first female biathlete to achieve a sprint and pursuit double at the same Olympics.
Her management did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment from Reuters.
ZDF said that a helicopter overflight on Tuesday had found no signs of life.
The rescue operation is under way with the cooperation of the Pakistan army, Faraq said, adding that bad weather meant a helicopter had been unable to reach the site.
The country’s northern mountainous regions have experienced heavy flooding and landslides, killing several local tourists during the current monsoon spell of rains.
Flooding and other rain-related accidents have killed 288 people in Pakistan since the monsoon season began in late June, says the country’s National Disaster Management Authority.
