Efforts continued for the second day to rescue a youngster trapped in a cave on a steep hill at Malampuzha near here on Tuesday. The government sought the help of the defence forces after attempts by the police, Fire and Rescue Services, and volunteers failed. Separate teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were making desperate attempts to reach the trapped youngster.
Para commandos of the Air Force were scheduled to reach Malampuzha by Tuesday night after flying to Sulur in Tamil Nadu. An Army team from Bengaluru with expertise in mountaineering was to reach the spot by Wednesday morning.
R. Babu, 23, a local youth who used to enjoy trekking along the hills of Malampuzha, had attempted to scale the rocky Cheradu hill along with two boys on Monday afternoon when he slipped and fell into a crevice. He got trapped in a cave on the steep rock from where he could not move out. He had reportedly broken his leg in the fall and was exhausted.
Although the police, Fire and Rescue Services personnel and some voluntary bodies tried to rescue him, none could reach near him because of the steepness of the terrain. Attempts to provide water and food to him using a drone also failed as he was stuck in an inaccessible area.
Extreme heat during the day and cold at night as well as the presence of wild animals, including elephants and leopards, had become a matter of concern as Babu lay in helplessness. With binoculars and zoom camera lenses he could be seen; but none could reach anyway near him because of the terrain.
A rescue attempt by a Coast Guard helicopter was aborted after the pilot could not either land the chopper on the hill or go near the trapped youngster. An official press statement said the helicopter “experienced a heavy downdraft” because of the weather and topography.
District Collector Mrunmai Joshi, who supervised the rescue operation, said concerted efforts were being made to reach the youngster. Apart from the NDRF, personnel of the Fire and Rescue Services, Forest, and the Police were involved in the operation since Monday night.
Meanwhile, concerns were raised about the flagging health of Babu, who could not drink or eat anything since Monday afternoon.
