COIMBATORE: In yet another death, the sixth in 45 days, a 60-year-old devotee hailing from Chennai died while trekking Velliangiri hills in Coimbatore.

Police said Raguraman from Ambattur near Chennai had started to trek the hills on Saturday night. As he reached the fifth hill, he reportedly developed severe breathlessness and collapsed.

The Forest Department engaged a team of ‘load men’ to bring him down to the plains. However, by the time a medical team examined him, Raguraman had died already. The body was sent for post-mortem examination at Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH). The Alandurai police have registered a case and further inquiries are on.

Including this incident, the total death toll among devotees has gone up to six in the last 45 days. Of them, two were youngsters aged 24 and 22 years, while the oldest was a 68-year-old man. Devotees usually throng the hills in large numbers during the months of March and April.

Following the spate of deaths, the Coimbatore Forest Department has already appealed to devotees with a history of medical illness like heart ailment, breathlessness, diabetics, obesity, elderly persons and those who underwent intensive treatment for COVID-19 infection to avoid visiting the hills.

The devotees were also advised to undergo a complete body check-up to ensure that they are fit for the arduous religious sojourn that involves walking up seven hills through a difficult terrain.