Son of climber stuck 22,000ft up Victory Peak with broken leg claims mum 'alive'

The son of a climber left to die at 22,000ft up a mountain has insisted she is "still alive" after rescuers abandoned their search as he pleads for a fresh rescue bid to be launched.

Natalia Nagovitsina, 47, was marooned amid freezing -28C overnight temperatures after breaking her leg during a climb up Victory Peak in Kyrgyzstan on August 12. A disastrous bid to rescue her then followed, which saw a fellow climber die from frostbite and a military helicopter later crash into the side of the mountain, forcing a team of rescuers to turn back.

On Friday, authorities in Kyrgyzstan announced the search had been called off after'no signs of life' were found. But Natalia's son, Mikhail Nagovitsin, 27, says he believes his mother is still alive - and has appealed to Russian authorities to attempt their own rescue.

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Speaking to reporters in his home country, he pleaded: “I request that the search be resumed.” He said shocked that the rescue attempts had been “completely suspended” by the Kyrgyz authorities.

“My mother is an experienced climber… and is also in very good shape,” he said. “I am sure that she is alive and want the search to be resumed.”

Hopes were raised last Tuesday when drone footage appeared to show Natalia alive a whole week after she was left stranded - and Mikhail now wants one more drone flight carried out to check for signs of life. “In the video I received, it is clearly visible that seven days after losing contact, she is actively waving her hand, full of strength,” he said.

In an appeal to Vladimir Putin's government, he said: “I ask for assistance in organising aerial video shooting of the Peak Pobeda area using drones to confirm the fact that she is alive. If this fact is confirmed, then organise a rescue operation.”

Four years ago, Mikhail’s father Sergei died at a similar altitude on another mountain in Kyrgyzstan after suffering a stroke during a climb. Natalia made the headlines at the time after defying orders to abandon him to die and remained with him through a blizzard, declaring she was not afraid of dying.

She miraculously survived after spending days comforting him on the mountain, but was unable to save his life. There had been talk that clearer conditions on Monday would enable a new drone flight to the so-called “death zone”, where temperatures in the area plummeted to -30C at the weekend.

But rescuers said the weather had not improved, and a drone flight was not made. A light rescue helicopter and its Italian crew eventually departed from the area, and officials said her body would be recovered next spring.

Mikhail said: “They continued to wait for a weather window - but this morning, the entire rescue operation was disbanded, and the reason is unknown. It alarms me.”

But Ilim Karypbekov, vice president of the Kyrgyz Mountaineering Federation, defended drawing the rescue operation to a close. He said: “Professional pilots flew in from Italy. But when they flew to the area by helicopter, the weather was not favourable.

“Before that, they invited a drone pilot who was ordered to probe the area, but it was not possible. And the forecast said that in the coming week, five or six days, the weather would not be stable enough to fly a helicopter, let alone a drone.

“So they called it off. They saw that there was no point in waiting that long. No one could survive that long. They decided that it was pointless to wait any longer. In the end, it became clear that they would only be able to reach Natalia next season.”

The last climb to reach her was abandoned on Friday due to the poor conditions, just 3,600ft below the spot where she was last seen. Three days after she went missing, Italian mountaineer Luca Sinigaglia, 49, brought Natalia a tent, sleeping bag, food, water and a gas cooker in a bid to keep her alive and arrange a rescue. He tragically died on his own way back down the mountain after developing frostbite.

And on August 17, a military Mi-8 helicopter crashed during the search operation, injuring rescuers seeking to save her. One climber did reach Natalia, but was unable to bring her down.