Feb 9, 2022, 1:24 PM IST
In a successful operation, the Indian Army personnel rescued a trapped trekker in Kerala’s Palakkad district from a hill after 45 hours. Army officers said they crawled four hours to reach the 23-year-old.
The trekker was stuck in a small cavity in the cliffside, which was barely big enough for him to squat in, since Monday, February 7. A team of seventy-five persons, including three army units, Air Force personnel and 20 officials of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), led by Colonel Sekhar Athri were involved in the rescue operation. Lieutenant Colonel Hemanth Raj, who knows Malayalam, was also a part of the team in order to communicate with Babu.
An official statement by the Army stated, R Babu, a 23-year-old amateur trekker, part of a team of four trekkers in the Malampuzha Reserve Forest area in Palakkad district, slipped into a deep cleft on the hill face, on 08 Feb 2022.
With the help of a safety rope, Babu was taken to the top of Kurumbachi hill in Malampuzha, from where efforts to possibly airlift him to the base were not possible.
The 1,000-ft (305 metre) Kurumbachi hill in Palakkad district of Kerala is known for its steep terrain and the state's forest department has previously warned trekkers about the risk of hiking up the hill. Babu fell and got stuck in the cleft on Monday, he had only enough space to sit inside it.
Babu had trekked up the mountain with two friends on Monday. While descending, he slipped and fell into a deep gorge, estimated to be at least 200 ft lower than the summit. He injured his leg in the process. Babu’s friends tried everything — wooden sticks, logs, ropes, but Babu could not climb up. His friends then went down the hill and informed the local residents and the police.
His friends, who failed to rescue him themselves, reached the base of the hill and informed authorities following which efforts began to rescue him.