Trekker falls to death in Rudranath Gorge, body retrieved after 12-hour operation

Omender Singh, aged 48 and a trekker from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, tragically died while descending the Rudranath trek in Rudraprayag district on Wednesday. Singh, who was trekking with his brother-in-law, slipped and fell into a gorge that was 200 meters deep.

The Rudranath trek is considered one of the toughest treks among the Panch Kedar due to its steep and challenging paths. It typically takes about 3-4 days to complete the 20-km trek. Upon receiving the information about Singh's death, a state disaster response force (SDRF) team from Gauchar launched a search operation despite adverse weather conditions.

"The body was recovered from a gorge in the jungle after a gruelling 12-hour search. The team had to trek 9km through rain-soaked and slippery terrain at night," said sub-inspector Manmohan Singh, who led the 11-member rescue team, adding, "The body was stuck at a precarious point with an 800m-1 km-deep gorge below and it was pitch dark. The rain made the task even more difficult as the narrow path was highly susceptible to mudslides."


He added that a temporary stretcher using wooden logs and ropes was built to carry the body to the nearest road.

(With TOI inputs)