The incident took place when Arun Sawant, a resident of Goregaon, was fixing a rappelling rope at Konkan-Kada rappelling point on Saturday. He was a part of a group of 30 trekkers.
Last year itself, Sawant had retired as a deputy manager from MTNL. He was also the trekker who first located the Konkan Kada rappelling point.
“Arun Sawant was fixing the rope at Konkankada rappelling point, on Saturday evening when he fell, and his body was found at around 2 pm on Sunday,” said police.
Sawant and 29 others were trekking at the height of 1,800 feet. However, He accidentally slipped and fell 550ft below into the valley, reported TOI.
According to his friend, Sawant had organized several rappelling and rock climbing events.
He (Sawant) had trained thousands of people. It’s a great loss for the trekking community.
Sawant’s friend, Dahananjay Madan
Sawant had chalked out new routes at many forts across the state and had also explored new caves.
Umesh Zirpe of the Guardian Giripremi Institute of Mountaineering
We looked up to Sawant as a very experienced mountaineer and trekker who had taken several initiatives to make climbing safe. The death of Arun Sawant is a huge loss to trekkers.
Anand Kenjale of Explorers Treks and Tours
Sawant is survived by his wife and daughter.
Source: Mumbai Mirror