Pune, 6th May 2026: A tourist who had gone to Sinhagad Fort to watch the sunset narrowly escaped death after slipping into a deep gorge on Tuesday evening. The incident took place near the western-side Hawa Point area of the fort.
The injured tourist has been identified as Yogesh Mohan Shitole (35), a resident of Shirur. He had visited Sinhagad earlier in the day and later went towards the cliffside area to capture sunset photographs.
During this time, he reportedly lost his balance on the grass and fell nearly 150 to 170 feet into the gorge.
Due to the fall, Shitole lost consciousness for some time. After regaining consciousness around 7 to 7:30 pm, he immediately contacted the emergency helpline number 112 and informed authorities that he was trapped in the valley.
After receiving the alert, Haveli Police personnel Aniket Kale quickly contacted the Haveli Disaster Management Rescue Team. Rescue personnel and police officials rushed to Sinhagad and began a challenging rescue operation in darkness and difficult terrain.
The rescue team descended nearly 170 feet into the gorge and safely brought Shitole back to the top. He was later admitted to a private hospital for treatment, and his relatives were informed about the incident.
Members of the rescue operation included Tanaji Bhosale, Santosh Bhagat, Ganesh Sapkal, Sanjay Chorghe, Nana Jarande, Krishna Margale, Uttam Pisal, Vaibhav Bhosale, along with police personnel Aniket Kale and Pravin Telwade.