Tragic end for British trekker in Kodagu

A British tourist, who went trekking the picturesque hillocks near Madikeri in Karnataka’s Kodagu district, died after developing breathing problems.

The 33-year-old British tourist David John Lord, a resident of Bristol in England, had arrived in India earlier this month with his girlfriend Lena Liyambe. The duo trekked through the forest ranges in Western Ghats and reached Madikeri in Kodagu on February 22.

After gathering information about the tourist places around Madikeri, Lord and his girlfriend Liyambe went trekking around Abbe falls on Friday morning with the help of a tourist guide and reached Devastur forests. When they resumed their trek after lunch, Lord, who had been an asthmatic patient, developed breathing difficulties in the evening and collapsed.

Deputy Superintendent of Kodagu district police H R S Shetty told reporters that Lord was declared dead by the time he was brought to the District Hospital in Madikeri. Hospital sources said Lord had died due to a heart attack. His girlfriend Liyambe was inconsolable in grief over the tragic end Lord.

Police said Ministry of External Affairs had been alerted. His body is expected to be flown to London from Mumbai.