Rescue suspended on Kyrgyzstan's highest peak after failed search

A multinational rescue effort on Kyrgyzstan's highest mountain has been suspended after failing to reach a Russian climber who broke her leg more than two weeks ago, and officials said thermal imaging showed no signs of life at her reported location. Natalia Nagovitsyna, 47, was injured on August 12 while descending Victory Peak, also known as Jengish Chokusu, which rises to 24,406 feet on the China border; she became stranded at roughly 23,000 feet, rescuers and media accounts said.

Kyrgyz authorities said poor weather, extreme cold and the terrain made further operations impossible. Adil Chargynov, a spokesman for the Ministry of Emergency Situations, told domestic media that all rescue operations had been suspended after a recent drone and thermal survey found no signs of life at Nagovitsyna's site. The state security agency said analysis of the data, combined with the area's characteristics and conditions, supported that assessment and that recovery would likely be possible only in spring.

The mission had already suffered a fatality and multiple setbacks. Italian climber Luca Sinigaglia, 49, who reached Nagovitsyna with supplies on August 15, later died from prolonged...