A civil engineer from Bengaluru who was on vacation in New Zealand, along with his wife and cousins, was found dead on Tuesday morning, as per a report by Chetana Belagare in the New Indian Express.
Authorities say that 53-year-old Satish Babu could have died of cardiac arrest during a trek he had undertaken on Mount Tongariro in North Island of New Zealand.
Amid blizzard-like conditions, Satish had reportedly gone missing on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.
Satish, who was a resident of Malleswaram, had left for New Zealand on Monday morning, along with his wife and three more families.
As per a family friend, Satish was out hiking with his friends when weather conditions suddenly turned inclement.
Satish’s wife Preethi said the incident occurred when he and his friends had reached the Ketetahi hut, which used to be an abandoned accommodation but is now used as a shelter.
She added that Satish started feeling uneasy at this time and told his fellow hikers to carry on without him to the vehicle. Weather conditions had already turned bad and when Satish didn’t return to his vehicle by 5pm, Preethi filed a missing complaint with the local police.
Police teams kept searching for him until after midnight and finally recovered his body on Tuesday morning.
The Tongariro National Park is reportedly visited by around a million people each year and covers about 79,596 hectares.
Friends of Satish Babu remember him as a vivacious person.
“I have never seen a single time when he was in a bad mood. His energy levels and his smile were infectious. He would always be surrounded by friends. He was a lovely husband. I don’t know how his son and wife will take this news,” a close friend of Satish told NIE.
Satish’s son Nihal is a second-year engineering student and had gone on a road trip, while his parents were on vacation. He hasn’t been informed as yet.