The body of a 23-year-old male student from India has been recovered from a river in the B.C. interior after an extensive search.

It is believed that while the man was taking pictures, he stepped off an embankment and was swept away by the North Thompson River. Attempts by his friends to pull him to safety were unsuccessful.

Kamloops Fire Rescue searched the river by boat, while other local search-and-rescue teams and a police drone were deployed in the attempt to locate the man.

“This appears to be nothing less than a truly tragic accident,”  RCMP Staff-Sgt. Man Van Laer said in a release Saturday.

The RCMP’s Underwater Recovery Team was on the scene late Saturday morning, and recovered the body a short while later.

Police say they are in contact with the student’s family in India and are liaising with them. His identity has not been released.

According to police, the cause of the man’s death is thought to be drowning.