Mountaineers come together for daring rescue of injured K2S trekker

Mumbai: A trekker who was on his way from Katraj to Sinhagad in Pune was rescued by a group of mountaineers, rock-climbers and adventure experts in the wee hours when he fractured his leg on Monday.

The victim, Santosh Kaduskar (45) was trekking from Katraj to Sinhagad along with friends. Near the fifth checkpoint of the K2S trek, Santosh fractured his right leg near a rocky patch, making it impossible for him to walk.

Santosh's uncle called the members of Giripremi for rescue and Maharashtra Mountaineers Rescue Coordination Centre (MMRCC).

Rahul Meshram provided the necessary information to Umesh Zirpe, a veteran mountaineer and mentor.

A team comprising Dr. Sumit Mandale, Vivek Shivde, Prabhakar Sutar, Varun Bhagwat, Suyash Mokashi, Kaushal Pohokar, and Aniket Bokil (Shivdurga, Lonavala) formed a team and provided stretcher, first aid, and water to Santosh near the fifth checkpoint.

At 4 am, the Giripremi team reached Santosh.

Dr Sumit immediately plastered Santosh's fractured leg on the spot, and everyone lifted Santosh onto the stretcher and carried him to the village, where an ambulance was kept on standby to transport Santosh and his friends to the hospital for further treatment. Some other youngsters from Pune also participated in the rescue, leaving their trek halfway. Deepak Bihade, Aniket Gurav, Abhay Gurav, and Eknath Sarukh were among these youngsters.

“This was a difficult operation but our team managed to rescue the trekker,” said Zirpe, the Director of Guardian Giripremi Institute of Mountaineering and President of Akhil Maharashtra Giryarohan Mahasangh (AMGM), the apex mountaineering body of the state.