MANALI: A tourist from Delhi died after falling into a gorge near Old Manali village on Sunday night. The victim has been identified as Vasudev (27), originally from Baghpat in UP. He was hiking alone towards Lamadug near Manali and was in contact with his friends on the phone. He told his friend that he had been stranded somewhere on the mountain, and was then incommunicado.
Police launched a rescue operation with the help of local volunteers but failed to locate the missing tourist. The rescue team camped in the forest area at night and continued the search on Monday morning, when they found his body. Manali DSP Hem Raj Verma said Vasudev’s family has been informed.
Meanwhile, a couple from UP went missing from Koksar in Lahaul-Spiti district on Sunday. Lahaul-Spiti DC Neeraj Kumar said they had hired a taxi for Koksar. “When they did not return, the taxi driver informed the police and a search operation was launched. Later, the couple’s mobile signal was traced to Manali. They said they could not find the taxi and hitched a ride to reach Manali,” he said.
