Palakkad: A 23 -year-old youth who was trapped in the cleft of a remote hill near Malampuzha in Kerala’s Palakkad district has been rescued by the army team on Wednesday morning. The youth, Babu, was brought to the top of the hill by around 10.15 am, two days after he had gone up by exploring the rocky hill along with two friends.
The rescue effort had commenced on Tuesday, initially with a Navy chopper doing the recee over the hilly terrain. However, the bid was aborted due to bad weather. Soon an army team of mountaineers was called in Bengaluru. Army Colonel Bala slid down a rope and gave water and food to Babu by 9.30 am. Then Babu was taken by Bala, to the top of the hill, using the same rope.
The 23-year-old, named Babu, got stuck in the pocket of the Cherad hill on Monday evening and rescue operations have been taking place ever since.
The Army team led by Col Sekhar Athri began rescue operations during the night. Army sources informed that the boy fell off a steep cliff and is about 30m from the clifftop. They also confirmed that communication has been established with the boy and reaffirmed that he is safe. The Army began rescue operation at 5.45 a.m. and drones are now being used for surveillance of location and choppers are on standby at the Sulur Airbase. Meanwhile, the second team of 22 personnel from Parachute Regiment centre, Bengaluru, moved by air to Sulur and reached the rescue location by 4 a.m. today. The Indian Army in a statement confirmed the same. “Teams of the Indian Army have undertaken a rescue operation to extricate a person stuck in a steep gorge in Malampuzha mountains, Palakkad Kerala. Teams have been mobilised overnight and rescue operations are under progress,” Indian Army said.
Babu had set out to climb the Malapuzha mountains with two others who gave up the climb halfway. The youth later slipped and got stuck on the side of the steep mountain. It has been well over 24 hours since the man got stuck and visuals from a drone show him sitting in what seems to be a precarious point on the cliff. Earlier, two teams of NDRF and a coast guard chopper had also joined the rescue operation but were unsuccessful in the attempt. The police, forest, fire force and civil defence volunteers are present on the scene.