Injured trekker airlifted to Chandigarh, still critical

Padmesh Patil

Pune-based trekker Padmesh Patil, who was hospitalised at SNM Hospital in Leh on Wednesday, was airlifted on Friday morning through an air ambulance to Chandigarh, where he was being treated at PGI Hospital, a military hospital. Doctors said His condition continued to be critical and has been on ventilator.

Patil had gone for trekking to Stok Kangri in Leh and was seriously injured when he fell 300 ft from a height of 6,000 metre on Stok Kangri. After the accident, he was stuck at Stok Kangri for nearly five hours, thus developing high-altitude sickness, said the doctors of Leh hospital.

A resident of Warje, Patil owned a business of computer hardware. He had gone for trekking through a group named Trek The Himalayas and was accompanied by two of his friends from Pune — Prashant Nagpure and Amit Balkawade — who are both with him in Chandigarh. Besides, Patil’s brother has also reached Chandigarh. “The air ambulance was arranged by Army officials,” informed Umesh Zirpe, founder of Giripremi, who was in touch with the local mountaineering fraternity of Leh and his friends to help them arrange an air ambulance to airlift Patil.