PUNE: When a 16-member group of the city-based trekkers descended the Nagphani valley in the scenic Lonavala-Khandala region to experience the monsoon magic on Saturday, they were blissfully unaware of the hazardous journey back to the base camp.
As they negotiated their way down the valley alongside a water fall, a realisation came upon them that rain and fog had reduced visibility in the valley. A wave of panic gripped the trekkers comprising 12 young boys and four girls.
"We just lost our sense of direction surrounded by a foggy atmosphere compounded by rains and the droplets from the cascading fall. After a while we knew that help was needed," Gauri Kelkar, one of the trekkers said on Sunday.
Guari and some others then contacted their parents in Pune on their cell phones informing them about the situation they had landed themselves in.
The alarmed relatives contacted the Lonavala police telling them about the plight of the group, almost blinded and stranded by nature's fury.
Rising to the occasion, the Lonavala police formed a team that left for the valley with a guide even as dusk started settling in to make the scenario worse for the trekkers whose weekend had already turned into a nightmare.
We maintained a constant telephonic contact with the scared boys and girls to reassure them and asked them to blow their whistles to help us spot them in the extremely poor visibility in the Nagphani valley, police said elaborating on the rescue operation.
As whistles answered whistles from the rescue team, the task of the rescuers became a little easier with the fall serving as the landmark.
A rope was lowered to facilitate the arduous ascent to safety of the forlorn trekkers.
When we reached the Lonavala police station escorted by the team, it was 8.30 pm., Gauri said.
Our day-long ordeal had come to an end thanks to our rescuers who arrived on the scene on time, she said in an expression of gratitude which eludes the police quite often.
