Stranded at Harishchandragad, one die, five rescued

Pune: One trekker died and five others were rescued from Harishchandragad in Akole tehsil of Ahmednagar district by forest department and police staff after the group from Pune was stranded for more than two days, said officials.

The deceased has been identified as Balu Natahram Gitte, 35, from Lohegaon and hailed from Yaldari in Latur district. The other members of the trekking team were Anil Mohan Ambekar, Govind Dattaraya Ambekar, Tukaram Asaram Tipale, Mahadu Jagan Bhutekar and Hariom Vitthal Borude from Lohegaon. All were working dumper drivers at a stone crushing firm in Lonikand area of the Pune city.

According to the Ahmednagar police, as the entry of heavy vehicles in the city was banned on August 1 due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, Gitte planned a visit to the Harishchandragad with others after seeing the reviews of the picturesque spot during rainy season on social media as it was day off for them. The six-member team began the trek from Tolar Khind in Pune district, but lost track due to heavy rainfall and dense forest.

Ganesh Ingale, assistant inspector, Rajur police station, said, “As they were not professional trekkers, nobody carried any safety equipment, food or clothing. They had to spend the night at the forest without food as they could not contact anyone on mobile as there was no network signal. Gitte died of hypothermia at around 11:30 am on August 2.”

Leaving two members with the body, the rest went in search of help and later meet some Mumbai-based trekkers, who offered them food and contacted a local guide named Balu Renegade. Renegade received the alert on the evening of August 2.

The rescue team comprising forest, police and locals found the missing trekkers at around noon on August 3. They were safely shifted to a safe locality at the base of Harishchandragad and immediately attended to by medical personnel on-site before shifted to a private medical hospital.

Ingale said, “As per autopsy report, trekker died of hypothermia caused due to prolonged exposure to excessive cold. We have handed over the body to relatives after post-mortem and have filed an accidental death report.”