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.

The climbing partner of Laura Dalmeier has opened up on having to make a heartbreaking decision after the Olympic hero was caught in a rockfall before dying in Pakistan. The 31-year-old German was on an expedition in the Karakoram mountains on Monday when tragedy struck.

Laura Dahlmeier, a trailblazer in biathlon and one of Germany's most decorated winter athletes, has died at 31 after a rockfall struck her during a climbing expedition on Laila Peak in northern Pakistan's Karakoram range. Her death has caused widespread shock and sorrow in the global sports and mountaineering communities.