17 trekkers rescued from Thane

A group of 17 trekkers, who were stuck at Harishchandragad near Murbad in Maharashtra's Thane district since Sunday, rappelled down to safety Monday. They have stuck at a ledge on the over 2500 feet tall cliff, called as Kokankada, on the hill fort, district officials said.

They descended to the bottom of the cliff Monday evening. The group, comprising four women, got stranded at the cliff after they lost their way, said Murbad tehsildar Sachin Chowdhary. Kokankada has located around 1.5 km from the hill fort which is a popular trekking spot in the Sahyadri mountains.

Professional trekkers and a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were called in to launch rescue operations last night. "The trekkers started rappelling down the cliff this morning.

The last person of the group descended down this evening," an official said. The walking distance between the base camp and the nearest village is four kms before the trekkers can reach the main road. District authorities have arranged for vehicles and other facilities for the trekkers who mainly hailed from Thane and Kalyan.

(With inputs from agencies.)