COIMBATORE: Two persons died en route to the Velliangiri Hills in the district on Saturday.
The number of devotees who died during the trek of the seven-hill range to visit the hilltop shrine increased to six this season with the latest casualties.
Last year, seven people died due to various health reasons while climbing the hills.
M Saravanan, a resident of Factory Church Road in Parangimalai in Kancheepuram district died allegedly due to cardiac arrest at the third hill of Velliangiri on Saturday morning. A Sreenivasan, a 45-year-old native of Madurai, died on Saturday evening.
Forest department sources said Saravanan was a cab driver. He and his friend were on the way to the temple atop the seventh hill. They had arrived from Chennai only on Saturday morning for the pilgrimage.
Saravanan complained of stomach upset to his friend and attended nature’s call near the bushes along the trekking route. After resuming the trek, he soon felt unwell and collapsed.
The information was shared to the Boluvampatti forest department staff who deputed dolly workers to bring his body to the foothills where the government doctors posted at the duty confirmed he was dead.
“As per the doctor’s statement, Saravanan could have died due to cardiac arrest. This will also be confirmed after the postmortem. After the postmortem at the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital, the body will be handed over to his relatives,” said sources.
Meanwhile, Sreenivasan, a resident of 40 feet road in Madurai, died allegedly due to breathing difficulties and chest pain at the fourth hill.
He had arrived with his son to visit the hill shrine.
“In 2025, in all 2.50 lakh devotees trekked the hills between February 1 and May 31. However, so far this year 3,22,273 devotees arrived,” said a forest departmentm official.