Army reaches Kerala youth trapped in mountain cliff; rescue op begins

The Indian Army personnel succeeded in reaching the youth trapped in a hill pocket in Malampuzha in Palakkad district of Kerala on early Wednesday morning (February 9).

The Kerala Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) confirmed that the Army was able to give food and water to R Babu and said an Indian Air Force helicopter is ready to pick him up once he reaches the top of the Cherad hill with the help of Army gear provided to him.

The 23-year-old resident of Malampuzha has been trapped on a cliff between rocks for the last 40+ hours with rescuers struggling to reach him.

According to locals, Babu, along with two others, had on Monday decided to climb to the top of Cherad Hill there, but the other two abandoned the effort halfway. However, Babu continued to climb to the top, and after reaching there, slipped and fell and got trapped between rocks on the mountain face. His friends tried to help him, but failed. They went down and sought help. Babu has suffered injuries on hands and legs.

An Army team, led by Col Sekhar Athri, began the rescue operation late on Tuesday night. The team reached there and confirmed that Babu is safe. Meanwhile, another team of 22 personnel from Bangalore-based Parachute Regiment too reached the rescue location by 4 a.m. on Wednesday.

The Army issued a statement: “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.”

The Army is supported by the NDRF, Coast Guard, Ait Force and other agencies. Drones have been employed for surveillance of the location and choppers are on standby at the Sulur Airbase.

According to PTI, Lt. General Arun of Army’s Southern Command informed the CMO that the team specialises in mountaineering and rescue. The scorching heat and windy conditions during the evenings had obstructed the rescue teams from making contact with the youth.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also intervened and sought the help of the Army to rescue the youth.