A monkey’s attempt to snatch his bag proved fatal for a 44-year-old teacher of Somalwar School. He fell into a 150 feet deep gorge while trying to get his bag back at a viewpoint in Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh, on Friday morning. His father and a group of students witnessed the shocking accident. The deceased has been identified as Vijay Nayak, a resident of Bhagwan Nagar. He was a physical education teacher at Somalwar School, Ramdaspeth. He had gone on an excursion to Pachmarhi with a group of 20 students and fellow teachers.

 

The incident took place at around 6.45 am when the group visited the viewpoint near Sunrise Point. Nayak was taking photographs when a monkey suddenly tried to snatch his bag. While trying to retrieve it, he moved beyond the safety railing, lost his balance and fell into the gorge. His father, Haridas, who was present at the spot, witnessed the entire incident. The fall left him and the students in deep shock. After receiving information, local police rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation. However, the difficult terrain and depth of the gorge made the operation challenging. The police team had to walk nearly three kilometres to reach the spot. After a search operation lasting around three-and-a-half hours, the team recovered Nayak’s body with the help of a stretcher. The body was brought out of the gorge at around 9.30 am and sent to a hospital for post-mortem examination.