Maharashtra Trekker Missing After 130-Metre Fall on Gangotri-Gaumukh Route

A 65-year-old tourist from Maharashtra remains missing after he fell into a deep gorge along the Gangotri-Gaumukh trekking route in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, with search and rescue teams returning to the field for a second consecutive day on Saturday amid continuing rain and poor weather.

The District Emergency Operations Centre identified the missing man as Ram Kumar Hanuman Gupta. He was part of a five-member group from Maharashtra that had set out from Gangotri towards Gaumukh on September 25. Around 2:30 pm, he is said to have slipped near Kachhidang, beyond Chirbasa, and plunged into a gorge estimated to be about 130 metres deep. He has not been traced since.

Following the incident, teams from the forest department, the police, the State Disaster Response Force and local porters were pressed into service. Saturday's operation involved an 18-member team: six SDRF personnel from Gangotri, four Nepali porters, four forest department staff from Bhojwasa, two police personnel and two porters.

The teams carried out extensive searches around Kachhidang, Chirbasa, Devgarh Khale and along the riverbank below Ram Mandir. However, steady rain and difficult conditions hindered the effort, and no sign of the missing tourist had been found till late in the evening. Officials said the search would be stepped up once the weather improves.

The other members of the group have been identified as Deepak Chhotelal, Shivsevak Motilal, Vishal Ram Kumar and Nikhil Suresh. While the missing man's family members are in Gangotri, the other trekkers are putting up at a hotel there.

Separately, in view of a red alert issued by the weather department, the district administration has suspended the pilgrimage to the Gangotri and Yamunotri dhams at the Hina and Dobata holding points as a precautionary measure.

The emergency operations centre and the smart control room have been placed on alert, and rainfall and landslide-related developments are being monitored continuously. Authorities have also directed officials of the National Highway, the Border Roads Organisation, the Public Works Department and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana to keep machinery and manpower ready for immediate clearance of any blocked roads.