Bengal mountaineer returns home after 11-Day ordeal in Iran
Falguni Dey, a Kolkata-based geography professor and mountaineer, just made it home after getting stuck in Iran for over a week when conflict broke out with Israel.
His dream climb of Mount Damavand got derailed as airports shut down and the situation turned tense.
How Dey got stuck at the border
Trying to get out, Dey traveled 500km to the Azerbaijan border but was denied entry because he lacked a migration code.
He spent five nights stranded at the border with barely any resources.
After failed attempts to get an Armenian visa, he took a 1,600km detour to Mashhad in hopes of finding a way home.
Dey back home, but eyes on next adventure
Thanks to help from the Indian embassy, Dey finally caught an evacuation flight that took him safely back via Delhi. He was one of nearly 300 Indians rescued under Operation Sindhu.
Grateful but undeterred by his experience, Dey says he's not giving up on adventure—he already has his sights set on climbing Mt Giluwe in Papua New Guinea this October.