Ko Mi-young (right) with her fellow climber Oh Eun-sun

One of Korea's most prominent female mountain climbers died while descending from the summit of Pakistan's Nanga Parbat, the world's ninth highest mountain, on Saturday.

Ko Mi-young, 41, fell from a cliff on the 8,126-m Himalayan peak around 6 p.m. local time. It was Ko's 11th successful 8,000-plus-meter climb, part of her attempt to conquer the world's 14 highest peaks.

Ko's agency Kolon Sports said on Sunday that she fell 1,000 m from a 6,300-m cliff during her descent of the peak. At around noon on Sunday, 18 hours after her fall, two Pakistani helicopters found Ko lying in snow, facing the peak of Nanga Parbat, at 5,300 m, just 100 m above a base camp.

The Korean Embassy in Pakistan confirmed Ko's death on Sunday night after speaking to the climber's team by phone.