The mortal remains of three Indian Navy officers and a sailor, who were part of a mountaineering expedition, were recovered on Saturday from the site of an avalanche at Mt Trishul in the western Kumaun region of Uttarakhand, officials said.
They said all-out efforts were continuing to locate the fifth naval climber and a Sherpa, who were among the six missing since Friday.
The deceased Navy personnel are Lt Commander Rajnikant Yadav, Lt Commander Yogesh Tiwari, Lt Commander Anant Kukreti and sailor Hari Om, the officials said.
A multi-agency team was deployed to carry out search and rescue operations.
The 20-member expedition was flagged off at Mumbai on September 3 and 10 climbers had started the final leg of their journey to the summit of Mt Trishul (7,120 m) on Friday morning but were caught in the avalanche.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has expressed grief over the death of the Navy personnel.
"Deeply anguished by the tragic death of four Navy personnel who were part of the Indian Navy mountaineering expedition to Mt. Trishul. The nation has not only lost precious young lives but also courageous soldiers in this tragedy," he said in a tweet.
ALSO READ: Uttarakhand: 5 Indian Navy mountaineers go missing after avalanche hits Trishul expedition
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