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.

A government spokesman in Pakistan says that German biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has died on a mountain in northern Pakistan.

Laura Dahlmeier, a two-time German biathlon Olympic gold medalist, has died after a climbing accident in Pakistan, her management team and local government officials confirmed.