After two days, trekker trapped in hill cleft in Kerala rescued by Army

Mangalore Today News Network / NDTV

Palakkad, Feb 09, 2022: After two days without food and water, a 23-year-old man who got trapped in a hill cleft in Kerala’s Palakkad district was rescued by the Indian Army on Wednesday morning. The Army team reached him and began carrying him up. He was immediately given food and water.

However, the uphill journey was difficult and the man, R Babu, had to rest often on the way.

 

In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, two Indian Army teams reached Palakkad district in Kerala to aid in rescue efforts after a 23-year-old man got trapped in a hill cleft while trekking on Monday.

The two Indian Army teams were requisitioned by the state government. One team of twelve personnel from Madras Regiment Centre, Wellington, reached the rescue site by road at 1.30 am. This team consisted of mountain qualified personnel with specialist equipment.

The second team of 22 personnel from Parachute Regiment centre, Bengaluru, was first moved by aircraft to Sulur. The team reached the rescue location by 4 am on Wednesday.

 

 

The rescue operation began at 5.45 am on Wednesday. Drones were used for surveillance of the location and choppers were on standby at Sulur airbase.Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan had tweeted on Wednesday morning that efforts were in full swing to rescue the youth.

The incident happened on Monday when Babu (23), along with his friends, went up the Kurumbachi hills in Cheradu, Palakkad. On their way down, Babu was exhausted and slipped on the rocks, ending up in a cavity in the hill.

Even though his friends tried to rescue him, they were not successful. The group came down and alerted the police. Soon, rescue teams arrived at the spot but attempts from coastguard to rescue him using a helicopter failed initially. He remained trapped for two days.

Courtesu:India Today