TRAGIC! Video Shows Pilgrim Slipping From Snow-Capped Ridge & Falling Into 250 Mtr Gorge In HP's Kullu

A video going viral on social media shows a 50-year-old jewellery shop owner from Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr, Vinay Verma, descending from a pilgrimage site in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu minutes before he lost his life after slipping off the glacier and falling into a gorge.  

In the video, Verma can be seen walking on an icy ridge with the help of a stick in full protective gear along with others.

Watch the video here:

The unfortunate incident occurred as Verma was descending from the pilgrimage site, Shrikhand Mahadev, approximately one kilometre from the glacier. His foot slipped on the excessive snow, causing him to fall into a 250-meter gorge in the Nirmand subdivision of Kullu district. Rescue teams took 12 hours to recover his body from the gorge.

As per reports, Verma, a resident of Mohalla Gandhinagar in Bulandshahr’s Gulaothi, was well-known in his community as the owner of a jeweller's shop on Saidpur Road. 

He embarked on the journey to Shrikhand Mahadev with his brother Sandeep Verma and two other devotees from Gulaothi. The group was part of a larger contingent of about 35 people from Delhi, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Gulaothi, and Meerut, who began the yatra on June 15.

His body was returned to the city on Saturday, where a large crowd gathered outside his residence. 

Verma's journey to Shrikhand Mahadev was his first, while his brother Sandeep had made the pilgrimage three times prior.

The Shrikhand Mahadev Yatra is known to be one of the most challenging pilgrimages in North India, a fact underscored by this tragic event.