Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid homage to Indian mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu whose body was found at a height of 6,000 feet in the Ceros mountains in south America.
"The accomplishments of Malli Mastan Babu will be remembered with immense respect and admiration. Condolences to his family," the prime minister said in an official statement.
The 40-year-old mountaineer, who hailed from Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, was missing since March 24 while climbing the mountains between Chile and Argentina.
The mountaineer left home for the trip on December 16, 2014, and began the expedition from the Argentine side on March 24.
He was scheduled to return to the base camp the next day but was apparently trapped in bad weather. All efforts by the family, friends and fellow mountaineers to contact him proved futile.
