Dad and experienced hiker was on his first canyoning trip when he tragically fell to his death when rescuers found his body wedged between rocks and submerged in water.
- Munib Dar’s body has been found
- Emergency teams found it among the rocks
- Mr. Dar was on his first canyoning trip
A father who was on his first canyoning trip died tragically and rescuers found his body wedged between rocks and partially submerged in water.
The body of Munib Dar, 39, was found submerged in the Wollangambe River, wedged between rocks, on a famous hiking trail in Sydney’s Blue Mountains region shortly after 11:00 a.m. on March 20.
Mr Dar was walking the Wollengambe Canyon 2 intermediate track at Mount Wilson when his friend lost sight of him on Sunday afternoon.
His friend was forced to leave Mr. Dar after realizing he was unable to help him and walked back to a location with phone coverage to call emergency services.
Rescuers began searching for Mr. Dar at 5 p.m. Sunday, but had to stop their search due to deteriorating conditions on the mountain.
Munib Dar, 39, (pictured) was found submerged between rocks in a river below the Wollengambe Canyon 2 track in Mount Wilson
The 39-year-old’s body was found Monday around 3 p.m. after hours of searching near Blue Mountain (pictured)
PolAir and NSW Ambulance were able to continue their search at 9am Monday in thick fog, preventing special operations teams from joining the search.
Dar, who leaves behind a wife and child, was found dead hours later.
“It appears to have gotten stuck on some rocks and has gone under water,” said Acting New South Wales Police Inspector Lauren Martin.
“We had very thick fog, drizzle and quite poor visibility, which made things very difficult for the crews.
“(This is a) very difficult time for the friends who were with the 39-year-old at the time he got into trouble.”
Emergency crews suspended their search of the Wollangambe River due to bad weather conditions before resuming it once the fog had partially cleared.
Mr. Dar was a father of one.
NSW Police stayed with his body overnight due to dire weather conditions before they were able to air it out safely on Tuesday.
A coroner’s report is being prepared.
The Wollengambe Canyon 2 track is a 5.8km trail and is generally considered a moderately challenging route taking over two hours to complete.
Australian All Trails Hiking Website warns hikers that “it’s unlikely you’ll run into many other people while exploring” in the remote bushland behind Mount Wislon.
The Wollangambe River, where Mr Dar was found, is in the Blue Mountains, 80 km west of Sydney, in New South Wales.
Australian hiking website AllTrails lists the Wollengambe Canyon 2 trail as isolated and intermediate, requiring over two hours to complete
