2 IIT-Bombay students on Mahuli fort trek survive near-fatal fall, rescued

NAVI MUMBAI: Two IIT-Bombay students were rescued after a near-fatal fall during a trek to Mahuli Fort in Thane district on Tuesday, said officials.

The 21-year-old students — U. Yenampalle from Hyderabad and his mechanical engineering friend Shobhon Muluswami from Chennai — slipped nearly 25 feet while climbing a rocky stretch near the summit. They were saved from plunging around 600 feet into a valley after getting stuck in a tree.

The duo had begun their trek from Asangaon via the Hanuman Darvaja route without a guide. Close to the top, they missed the designated path and mistakenly climbed a steep, slippery rock face. Both lost balance and fell, managing to cling to a lone tree. Realising they were stranded, they shared their GPS location and called for help.

A 12-member team from the local Jeevrakshak rescue group launched an operation around 12:30pm and arrived to help the students by 2pm. "We asked them to remain calm, gave them water and biscuits, and used rappelling techniques to bring them up safely despite loose rocks," said rescuer Bhushan Vishe.

Another team member, Raghunath Agivale, said the rescuers anchored ropes to a tree and carefully pulled the students to safety. The operation lasted nearly eight hours and concluded around 7:30pm.

Both students sustained multiple injuries, but are reported to be safe.

Authorities said the trekkers had strayed into a high-risk zone. Shahapur police inspector Mukesh Dhage and tahsildar Parameshwar Kasule had alerted rescuers at around 10.30am.