Officers had been looking for Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Henderson and Hugo Morris, who were missing since Sunday morning.

Police have given the ages of the teenagers but did not confirm their identities - saying one was 16, two were 17 and another was 18.

North Wales Police said their bodies were recovered from a silver Ford Fiesta which appears to have left the road on the A4085 at Garreg, near Tremadog.

The force said enquiries were ongoing to establish the circumstances that led to the car leaving the road.

Police have said the teenagers are believed to have travelled to Harlech on Saturday, with plans to camp at Eryri, also known as Snowdonia, on Sunday.

Follow latest: Bodies found in search for missing teenagers

Investigation into crash ongoing

Giving the latest update in the search, Superintendent Owain Llewellyn said this evening: "Police officers attended (the scene) and located a Ford Fiesta vehicle on its roof, partially submerged in water.

"Tragically, the bodies of four young males were recovered from within the vehicle. The families of the missing boys have been informed.

"Our thoughts are with them at this desperate time. Whilst the search is concluded, there is an ongoing investigation to formally identify those within the vehicle and to understand what's led to this tragic incident."

Police began a large search after first receiving reports of four missing teenagers at 3pm on Monday, Superintendent Llewellyn said.

At 10am on Tuesday morning, a member of the public in a "fairly high vehicle" contacted police after spotting a car that had left the road between Beddgelert and Llanfrothen, the superintendent added.

"They were able to glimpse it, while others weren't," he said.

Superintendent Llewellyn described the search area as having "some complexities" adding that it was a "difficult scene to manage".

He added: "At present, this appears to have been a tragic accident, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the four young men at this very difficult time."

A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We were called on Tuesday at approximately 10.08am to reports of an incident near the A4085 between Nantmor and Tan-Lan.

"We sent an operations manager, two emergency ambulances and two Cymru high acuity response units to the scene where we were supported by the emergency medical retrieval and transfer service in two Wales Air Ambulance charity helicopters."