<p>For Sunil Mahendra, it was not the biting cold of the dense forests of Mahabaleshwar that made him shiver, but spending 28 hours in a gorge next to the mutilated bodies of his kin.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“The time I spent with the mutilated bodies of my uncle and aunt in the biting cold are etched in my memory. It was a dense forest and no one could hear our screams however loud they were,” he said.<br /><br />Sunil’s cousin Arvind Kannaberan, a techie from Bengaluru, planned a Christmas vacation at Mahabaleshwar. Hyderabad-based Sunil joined him at Kolhapur.<br /><br />“Since Arvind’s parents could not travel that long a distance by road, they came from Bengaluru to Pune by train. We went around Kolhapur for a day. On December 26, we picked up Arvind’s parents from Pune,” said Sunil. <br /><br />Sunil who was driving the car till Mahad asked Arvind to drive as he was tired.<br />‘Fast asleep’<br /><br />“Others in the back seat were fast asleep. Half an hour after they began their journey from Mahad, in one of the curves in the ghat area, a heavy vehicle which was speeding hit us from the opposite direction. Our car crashed into the retaining wall and plunged into an 800-foot deep ravine,” recalled Sunil. <br /><br />Only two hours later did he and his cousin Arvind gain consciousness. With the help of a mobile torch, they looked for other family members. While his uncle was dead, his cousin Anupama and niece Arpita were writhing in pain. <br /><br />“My aunt was breathless for nearly half an hour. We could not even find a water bottle at that point in time. She breathed her last in front of our eyes,” Sunil said. Except for Sunil’s mobile, the others’ phones were damaged. <br /><br />“There was no network at the place. I had to climb up a rock to get one point on the network bar. <br /><br />“By 1 pm, I was able to get in touch with a Bengaluru-based friend, Hemanth. Minutes later, my phone got switched off as the battery was down,” he added.<br /><br />The family got help only at 3 pm the following day. Arpita, Anupama and Arvind were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. <br />DH News Service</p>
<p>For Sunil Mahendra, it was not the biting cold of the dense forests of Mahabaleshwar that made him shiver, but spending 28 hours in a gorge next to the mutilated bodies of his kin.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“The time I spent with the mutilated bodies of my uncle and aunt in the biting cold are etched in my memory. It was a dense forest and no one could hear our screams however loud they were,” he said.<br /><br />Sunil’s cousin Arvind Kannaberan, a techie from Bengaluru, planned a Christmas vacation at Mahabaleshwar. Hyderabad-based Sunil joined him at Kolhapur.<br /><br />“Since Arvind’s parents could not travel that long a distance by road, they came from Bengaluru to Pune by train. We went around Kolhapur for a day. On December 26, we picked up Arvind’s parents from Pune,” said Sunil. <br /><br />Sunil who was driving the car till Mahad asked Arvind to drive as he was tired.<br />‘Fast asleep’<br /><br />“Others in the back seat were fast asleep. Half an hour after they began their journey from Mahad, in one of the curves in the ghat area, a heavy vehicle which was speeding hit us from the opposite direction. Our car crashed into the retaining wall and plunged into an 800-foot deep ravine,” recalled Sunil. <br /><br />Only two hours later did he and his cousin Arvind gain consciousness. With the help of a mobile torch, they looked for other family members. While his uncle was dead, his cousin Anupama and niece Arpita were writhing in pain. <br /><br />“My aunt was breathless for nearly half an hour. We could not even find a water bottle at that point in time. She breathed her last in front of our eyes,” Sunil said. Except for Sunil’s mobile, the others’ phones were damaged. <br /><br />“There was no network at the place. I had to climb up a rock to get one point on the network bar. <br /><br />“By 1 pm, I was able to get in touch with a Bengaluru-based friend, Hemanth. Minutes later, my phone got switched off as the battery was down,” he added.<br /><br />The family got help only at 3 pm the following day. Arpita, Anupama and Arvind were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. <br />DH News Service</p>
