Lonavala: Young Man Dies After 450-Foot Fall While Posing for Photo at Lohagad Fort
Pune, 18th June 2026: A trekking trip to Lohagad Fort in Pune district’s Maval taluka ended in tragedy on Thursday morning when a 26-year-old man lost his balance while posing for a photograph and fell nearly 450 feet into a gorge.
The deceased has been identified as Ketan Vishal Agrawal (26), a resident of Lodha Belmondo Society in Gahunje, Maval.
According to Lonavala Rural Police Inspector Dinesh Tayde, Ketan had visited Lohagad Fort with a group of friends for a trekking excursion. At around 10:30 a.m., while posing for a photograph near the edge of a cliff, he reportedly lost his footing and plunged into a deep gorge, sustaining fatal injuries.
The incident has left both families devastated, as Ketan was scheduled to get married in November. In a heartbreaking coincidence, his fiancée’s birthday falls on Friday.
Following the incident, Inspector Tayde, along with police personnel Pawan Karad, Jay Pawar, Prashant Ture, and Pranay Ukirde, rushed to the spot and initiated rescue and recovery operations. The police also alerted the Shivdurg Mitra Emergency Rescue Team and the Wildlife Rescue Team, Maval.
Rescuers carried out a challenging operation in the dense forest below the fort. After nearly three hours of strenuous efforts, the team located and retrieved Ketan’s body from the gorge and carried it on a stretcher to the base of the fort.
Lonavala Rural Police have registered a case and are conducting further investigations.
