Forest Department staff rescued a 57-year-old man, who reportedly got lost in the wild during the pilgrimage to Melmudi Ranganathar temple late on Saturday.

According to the Department, Balasubramanian from Podanur visited the Melmudi temple via Thadagam along with a group of trekkers. On their return after worship, others walked ahead while he lagged behind due to tiredness. Though he resumed the trek later, he was unable to find the way and halted halfway up the hill alone at night. The man contacted his wife over the phone, informed her that he was stranded and shared his location.

His wife reported the incident to the Department’s control room in Chennai. A team of frontline staff from the Coimbatore forest range rushed to the Melmudi mountain trail and rescued Mr. Balasubramanian, who was found wandering alone, and brought him to the foothills safely around 2 a.m., Sunday.