Officials in Kyrgyzstan on August 27 said no signs of life were found by a thermal-imaging drone flyover mounted as part of the search for Russian climber Natalia Nagovitsyna, stranded near the top of the country’s highest mountain for more than two weeks with a broken leg.

In a statement, Kyrgyzstan's state security agency said: "Based on analysis of the data obtained and taking into account a combination of factors, including extreme weather conditions and the specifics of the area, no signs of life were found at Nagovitsyna's location."

Previous drone footage obtained on August 19 showed that, while Nagovitsyna was still alive, the small orange tent of the 47-year-old mountaineer had been torn apart by icy, gusting winds.

bne IntelliNews reported late on August 26 that the race to save Nagovitsyna from the icy summit of Jengish Chokusu, or Victory Peak, a mountain near the border with China with a height of 7,439 metres (24,406 feet), was still on.

Russia’s chief investigator Alexander Bastrykin, responding to an appeal from Nagovitsyna’s son Mikhail, ordered urgent coordination with Kyrgyz emergency officials to organise an attempt at rescuing the climber.

The effort to save Nagovitsyna has been made all the more poignant by the fact that four years ago her husband, Sergei Nagovitsyn, perished after he became paralysed and incapacitated during an expedition on the mountain of Khan-Tengri, located on the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan-China tri-point. Also, on August 15 Italian mountaineer Luca Sinigaglia died during an attempt to evacuate Nagovitsyna.

Bastrykin’s August 25 order to his staff to pursue “comprehensive measures” with Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry was reported by The Moscow Times on August 26.

Jengish Chokusu is widely regarded as one of the 10 most difficult mountains to climb in the world, with around a third of people who attempt the feat dying in the process

During repeated attempts to save Nagovitsyna, a helicopter was forced into a hard landing, with several aboard suffering injuries as a result.

Both Jengish Chokusu and Khan-Tengri are members of the so-called Snow Leopard group of mountains, five 7,000-ft-plus peaks found across the former Soviet Union. Only around 700 people, including 30 women, have accomplished the feat of climbing all five.