35-yr-old dies of cardiac arrest during Chadar trek

Mumbai: A 35-year-old Ghatkopar resident, Daval Suresh Shah, died of a cardiac arrest in the early hours of Thursday while participating in the Chadar trek in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ladakh region.

According to Shah’s relatives, the deceased was a developer and he resided with his wife Dr Sidhi Shah, a physiotherapist, and his elderly parents. Shah was experiencing slight pain in his legs after trekking on Wednesday.

Talking to The Asian Age, additional commissioner of Leh, Moses Kun-zang, said, “We received a phone call informing us that a person was lying near Tibb Cave. We immediately sent a medical team to rescue him but he didn’t respond to its efforts.”

Mr Kunzang added, “The body was airlifted by the Indian Air Force to Leh Air Force Station on Thursday morning and it has been kept at the mortuary of Sonam Norboo District Memorial Hospital in Leh. Three relatives of his are here and the body will be dispatched on Friday morning via Jet Airways.”

The Leh Commissonerate has completed all legal formalities and body is slated to arrive in the city today afternoon.

Talking to The Asian Age, Shah’s cousin Viral Shah (45), a developer, said, “Shah had been passionate about trekking for four years. He had completed small treks near Maharashtra. On January 3, he left for this excursion, which was his first long trek on a hilly snow-capped mountain.”

He added, “We received a call on Thursday morning from Canvas N Chrome, which organises treks in Leh. They called his dad and told him that his son was unwell and not responding well to treatment.”

Mr Shah also said that no well-equipped medical team was present at the high altitude and a doctor must always be a part of trekking teams. “The message is very clear: people should not go these spots without taking proper care and checking with the company organising the trek whether it is well equipped or not. Last year, too, a 21-year-old died while on a trek.”

Shah’s brother-in-law Apurva Ajmera and his cousins, Ginesh and Kulin Shah, have left for Leh to receive his body.