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The Indian mountaineering community is mourning the death of a well-known fellow climber who died while trying to climb an Andean mountain in Chile.

Malli Mastan Babu died in extreme bad weather during an ascent of Cerro Tres Cruces, a mountain in Chile's Atacama region.

The death of the 40-year-old, known in India for climbing the highest peaks on each of the seven continents, was confirmed by an official at India's embassy in Santiago, Chile, over the weekend. He had been missing since March 23.

Mohan Singh Kolhi, the leader of the first Indian expedition to climb to the top of Mount Everest, in 1965, said Malli "definitely had the guts and courage to take risks in life."