PUNE Arun Sawant, a trekker in his 60s, fell to his death while setting up for a rock climbing session from the Konkan cliff of Harishchandragad fort in Ahmednagar, on Saturday. His body was recovered on Sunday.
The body is suspected to have fallen from a height of over 550 feet, where Sawant was setting up the ropes for a team of at least 30 rock-climbing enthusiasts, according to sources.
“We got the information about the incident on Saturday night. Our team, along with two others teams, left from Lonavla to Harishchandragad. His body was found in the morning and the team he was leading was brought back up safely,” said a member of Shivdurga trekking group from Lonavla.
Sawant was reported missing by his teammates while he was setting up the ropes for rock climbing.
He was a resident of Mumbai and worked with MTNL and was an active member of the trekking and mountaineering community.
Umesh Zirpe, a senior mountaineer, member of Giripremi Mountaineering Club and president of Akhil Maharashtra Giryarohan Mahasangh said, “Sawant’s death is a huge loss to the mountaineering fraternity. He was known as a cave explorer and also ran an organisation named Cave Explorers. It is difficult to conduct climbing and rappling activities in at Konkan Kada as it has a steep slope and accidents often take place in the area. We will soon know the actual reason of the accident.”
{{/usCountry}}Umesh Zirpe, a senior mountaineer, member of Giripremi Mountaineering Club and president of Akhil Maharashtra Giryarohan Mahasangh said, “Sawant’s death is a huge loss to the mountaineering fraternity. He was known as a cave explorer and also ran an organisation named Cave Explorers. It is difficult to conduct climbing and rappling activities in at Konkan Kada as it has a steep slope and accidents often take place in the area. We will soon know the actual reason of the accident.”
{{/usCountry}}Sawant is a pioneer of multiple treks in and around Pune which have now become a major attraction for enthusiasts including- Duke’s Nose, Sandhan Valley, Thitabi waterfall in Malshej ghat, and multiple others.
Konkan Kada
-Konkan Kada is a major attraction at the Harishchandragad fort, located in Ahmednagar. This cliff faces west and looks down upon the Konkan.
-This cliff is not only vertical, but is also overhung, like a hood of a cobra.
-Konkan Kada is at 3,500 ft above sea level
-It is one of the toughest spot to climb and the route has steep slope