Avalanche: Bodies of 4 naval climbers found

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 2

A day after an avalanche hit them, three naval officers and a sailor were found dead near Mount Trishul in Uttarakhand on Saturday.

Another officer and a mountain guide are still missing. A team of 10 naval personnel was scheduled to summit the 7,120-metre high Mount Trishul on Friday when an avalanche hit them. Five of them went missing. The bodies of four them were retrieved.

The deceased navy personnel are Lt Commander Rajnikant Yadav, Lt Commander Yogesh Tiwari, Lt Commander Anant Kukreti and sailor Hari Om, officials said.

All-out efforts were on to locate the fifth naval climber and a Sherpa. A multi-agency team was deployed to carry out search and rescue operations, they said. The 20-member expedition was flagged off from Mumbai on September 3.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has expressed grief over the death of the navy personnel. “Deeply anguished by the tragic death of four navy personnel. The nation has not only lost precious young lives but also courageous soldiers in this tragedy,” he tweeted.