NAVI MUMBAI: A 30-year-old Kalyan-based professional trekker survived a massive fall at
Peb Fort
on the foothills of Matheran around 1 pm on Saturday.
A group of six friends had gone for the
trek
. The group had started the journey around 7am and reached the base of Peb Fort by 9am on Saturday. The group decided to stop for a break when Ramesh Kumar Ramnathan's bag slipped from his hands.
Ramnathan, who works as a telemarketing executive, went to retrieve the bag, but slipped midway and had a free fall of several hundred feet and was stuck on a boulder. As he remained unreachable for over an hour, other members of the group alerted Neral police. His friends reached him on mobile and he shared his location photograph with his
trekking
team members.
Neral constable Ghanshyam Palve said, "Ramesh had a free fall of around 500ft at Peb Fort. The police, Sahyadri Mitral Mandal rescue team and Neral villagers brought him out of the valley using rescue kits. The rescue op ended around 7.30 pm. He is out of danger and has been admitted to a hospital."
A member of the trekking team Rajdatta Chavan said, "Ramnathan's bag slipped while our group was taking rest midway to Peb Fort. The bag was visible around 40ft below. Ramnathan went to fetch the bag and we lost contact with him for over an hour. We alerted the police, but persistently tried to reach him on his mobile number."
Chavan added, "After an hour, Ramnathan informed us he was sitting on a boulder. Police then launched a search operation. Despite the massive fall and injury, he walked around two hours with the rescuers. Ramnathan is into weekly trekking expeditions. He has been to Peb Fort earlier, but used another route."
His friend Jitendra Rawal said, "The gritty Ramnathan even posted photographs of the location on social media. He remained brave despite injuries to his head and his right hand being dislocated, besides other minor injuries. He is in the ICU of Fortis Hospital at Kalyan. He stays with his mother and sister. We are thankful to Neral villagers, Sahyadri Mitra Mandal and the police who launched the search operation and saved his life."
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