North Wales Police has recovered two bodies on Wales’s highest peak in Snowdonia following an extensive search operation for two young men who had gone missing earlier in the week.
The pair, aged 19 and 20, were reported missing on Wednesday evening, prompting immediate concern for their safety.
Authorities have now formally identified both individuals, with their families receiving notification of the tragic discovery.
The coroner has been informed of the deaths, and police have requested that the privacy of the bereaved families be respected during this difficult period.
A major multi-agency operation was swiftly mobilised following the initial alert, with rescue personnel deployed to the Yr Wyddfa mountain in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The search effort brought together volunteers from Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team and Aberglaslyn Mountain Rescue Team, alongside RAF Mountain Rescue Service personnel.
Search dogs from Sarda joined the operation, while HM Coastguard provided additional support, including a helicopter.
These combined teams conducted thorough searches across the Eryri mountain range, working through Wednesday night as they attempted to locate the two men as rapidly as possible.
They were found on Yr Wyddfa, Wales’s highest peak
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Rescue teams faced arduous winter conditions throughout the operation, battling snow and ice across treacherous mountain terrain.
Volunteers worked extended shifts through the night in challenging weather, determined to find the missing pair with all possible speed.
When searches recommenced at approximately 8am on Thursday, the coordinated efforts led to the grim discovery.
The bodies of both men were located and subsequently recovered from the mountain during these morning operations.
The search effort brought together volunteers from Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team and Aberglaslyn Mountain Rescue Team, alongside RAF Mountain Rescue Service personnel
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PA
The outcome brought deep sadness to all those who had participated in the rescue attempt, despite their sustained and determined commitment to the search.
Jurgen Dissmann, chair of Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team, offered his sympathies to those affected by the tragedy.
“On behalf of Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team, I would like to extend our most heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the two men who have tragically lost their lives,” he said.
“Despite the determined and sustained commitment of everyone involved, we are deeply saddened that, despite all efforts, the outcome was not what we had hoped for.”
Rescue teams faced arduous winter conditions throughout the operation, battling snow and ice across treacherous mountain terrain.
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GETTY
Mr Dissmann expressed gratitude to colleagues from Aberglaslyn Mountain Rescue Team, RAF Mountain Rescue Team, Sarda and HM Coastguard for their invaluable assistance throughout the operation.
The sad discovery came just weeks after two women died following an incident in Nant Gwynant, in Eryri National Park, also known as Snowdonia.
Officers were called to the scene at around 9.30pm, following reports of a female being pulled from the water, with another woman reported to be in the water at the pools on Watkin Path.
She was pulled from the water but was pronounced dead at the scene.