A mountaineering team of the Indian Army rescued a young hiker who was caught in a crevice of a steep rocky hill at Malampuzha, near here, on Wednesday.
The hiker, R. Babu, 23, was rescued after 45 hours he perilously clung to life without food and water in the cleft.
The Army move, codenamed Operation Palakkad, brought to a happy end hours of anxiety and prayers that the entire Kerala went through after Babu slipped and fell into the crevice while scaling the Cherad Hill along with two of his friends on Monday.
Although slightly injured, Babu alerted the public about his plight by sharing his picture on the Facebook. Attempts by the police, Fire and Rescue Services personnel, forest officials and local volunteers failed as none could reach anywhere near Babu because of the treacherous terrain.
The State government sought the help of the Defence forces after a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) could not make much headway.
Army teams
Two Army rock climbing expert teams from Parachute Regimental Training Centre (PRTC), Bengaluru, and Madras Regimental Centre (MRC), Wellington, reached Malampuzha late night on Tuesday and positioned themselves for one of the operations that Kerala applauded with warmth.
When one team climbed the hill along with a group of NDRF and Fire and Rescue Services men, the other provided logistical support from below. Using a rope, one of the soldiers, Bala, descended to the crevice and reached out to Babu with water and food around 8.30 a.m. He was soon lifted to the top of the hill, bringing cheer to the State.
An Army statement said that Babu was located 30 metres down the cliff top. Babu appeared healthy and kissed the Army men in gratitude.
An Indian Air Force helicopter Mi-17 soon lifted him from the hilltop and took him to a ground at Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) at Kanjikode, from where he was rushed to the District Hospital in Palakkad.
Army lauded
Kerala saluted the Army for its Operation Palakkad. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, Minister for Power K. Krishnankutty, Minister for Cooperation V.N. Vasavan and several MPs, MLAs and social, political, cultural and religious leaders thanked the Army.
Lt. Gen. A. Arun, General Officer Commanding of the Dakshin Bharat Area, coordinated the Operation Palakkad. District Collector Mrunmai Joshi supervised the rescue by coordinating the revenue, police, Fire and Rescue, NDRF, and forest officials.
