Uttarakhand Avalanche: Bodies of 3 Navy Officers, 1 Sailor Retrieved from Mt Trishul

The dead bodies of three Navy officers and one sailor were recovered on Saturday from the site of an avalanche at Mt Trishul in the western Kumaun region of Uttarakhand. The deceased Navy personnel were identified as Lt Commander Rajnikant Yadav, Lt Commander Yogesh Tiwari, Lt Commander Anant Kukreti, and sailor Hari Om. All of them were on a mountaineering expedition. The rescuers have been looking for a fifth naval climber and a porter who also went missing after the incident.

Mount Trishul is a group of three Himalayan peaks in the Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand. A 20-member team of mountaineers of the Navy had embarked on an expedition to Mount Trishul 15 days ago and were on the final leg of their journey but the avalanche hit the area around 5 am on Friday.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted, "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 also wrote, "My heart goes out to the bereaved families of Lt Cdr Rajnikant Yadav, Lt Cdr Yogesh Tiwari, Lt Cdr Anant Kukreti and Hari Om MCPO II. My thoughts are with their families in this hour of tragedy. Praying for early locating of the remaining team members."