Young Trekker Stranded on Kerala Hill for 45 Hours Rescued by Indian Army

A 23-year-old youth trapped in a steep gorge in Malampuzha mountains in Palakkad, Kerala was rescued by teams of the Indian Army on Wednesday, 9 February.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Video Producer: Shohini Bose
Video Editor: Subroto Adhikari

A 23-year-old youth trapped in a steep gorge in Malampuzha mountains in Palakkad, Kerala, was rescued by teams of the Indian Army on Wednesday, 9 February.

A native of Cherad in Malampuzha, R Babu had been stuck inside a small cavity on the side of a steep hill for 45 hours before he was rescued. He has reportedly sustained minor injury on his knee.

Teams of the Indian Army were engaged in the rescue operations after being mobilised overnight, in order to bring the trekker back to safety.

According to The News Minute, a team of 75 persons was involved in the rescue operations. This included three army units, air force personnel, and 20 officials of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), led by Colonel Sekhar Athri.

What Had Happened?

On Monday, Babu and three of his friends had gone on a hiking trip to Kurumbachi. On their way down, however, Babu slipped and fell, and found himself stuck inside the small cavity that was just enough for him to squat and sit inside.

Babu’s friends had 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, as per The News Minute.

Visuals from the spot had shown Babu squatting in a small cavity on the side of the hill. Drones had been used to ascertain his location

(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

The fire brigade and Malampuzha police reached the spot around 12 am, but could not commence their work due to lack of light.

Multiple attempts made using the coast guard and navy choppers to rescue the youth had also failed.

Late on Tuesday, Indian Army personnel from the Madras Regiment Centre in Wellington and Parachute Regiment Centre, Bengaluru had been mobilised for the rescue operations, and had reached the site

CM Pinarayi Vijayan Steps In

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had directed the Indian Army to help rescue the youth.

"Efforts are in full swing to rescue the youth trapped in Malampuzha Cherat hill. There are currently two units of the Indian Army at the scene. Army Members were able to talk to him. The rescue operation will be intensified today. An IAF helicopter is ready to be deployed," Vijayan had tweeted.

Commanding (GOC) of Dakshin Bharat area Lieutenant General A Arun had informed the Chief Minister's Office late on Tuesday that an Army Special Forces team from Bengaluru had started for the location immediately.

(With inputs from ANI and The News Minute.)