In 2003, members of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute who were trekking on the South Dakka Glacier came across the remains of a human body.[6][3] The body was identified as Sepoy Beli Ram, a soldier of the Indian Army who was on the flight.[7]
On 9 August 2007, an Indian Army expedition code named Operation Punaruthan-III,[8] recovered three more bodies.[9]
From 2003 till 2009, three search expeditions have been carried out with the recovery of four bodies.[6] The crash location lies at a height of about 18,000 feet (5,500 m), at a gradient of 80 degrees.
On 21 July 2018, The Times of India reported that a mountaineering team at the Chandrabhaga-13 peak had found a body at the Dhaka glacier base camp.[10] The team found wreckage of the plane along with the remains of a soldier on 11 July 2018.[10][11] The team leader mentioned that the expedition was on a mission to clear up the trash left behind by climbers, and that it was organised by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation and the ONGC.[11]
On 18 August 2019, after 13 days of search and recovery operation, a joint team of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force recovered several parts of the aircraft like the aero engine, fuselage, electric circuits, propeller, fuel tank unit, air brake assembly and a cockpit door.[12]
On 29 September 2024, the bodies of four more victims were found by the Dogra Scouts of the Indian Army and the Tiranga Mountain Rescue. Three out the four fatalities were identified as Malkhan Singh, Sepoy Narayan Singh and Craftsman Thomas Cheriyan.[13]
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