Gopeshwar, Oct 4 (PTI) A pilgrim from Delhi who went missing while returning from a trek to Rudranath temple in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district was rescued on Friday, a senior official said.
Akash Gupta, who was part of a group of over 40 pilgrims from Delhi, went missing late Thursday evening near Pung Padav, Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari told reporters here.
He was, however, rescued safely on Friday afternoon, he added.
The trek is difficult as pilgrims have to walk up steep slopes, through dense forests and meadows for about 20 km to reach the temple from Sagar village and Anusuya gate.
This group had started the trek from Sagar village, the DM said. Expressing delight after his son's rescue, Akash's father said that he "got separated from the group as he tried to take a short route and lost his way".
"He fell near a waterfall and got thoroughly drenched. However, he changed into a raincoat and somehow spent the night. He was rescued by the police forest department team, SDRF and around 25 porters. He has some scratches, but otherwise he is fine," he told reporters soon after his son's rescue. The rest of the pilgrims had returned safely from the trek on Thursday, he added.
Rudranath is one of the most inaccessible temples in the 'Panchkedar' group of temples in Uttarakhand. The other temples in the group are Kedarnath, Tungnath, Kalpeshwar and Madhyamaheshwar.
A large number of pilgrims from the country and abroad visit it every year to worship Lord Shiva.
Incidents of pilgrims getting separated from their groups along the trek is common. PTI COR ALM AS AS
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