They turned back short of the summit because of safety concerns, but their timing was unlucky. Dahlmeier was rappelling when a big rock fatally struck her.

German Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has died following a climbing accident on a mountain peak in northern Pakistan.

German biathlete and double Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier has been seriously injured after being struck by a rockfall while attempting to summit a 6,094-metre peak in northern Pakistan, a provincial government spokesperson and a Pakistani climbing federation said on Tuesday.