Early on Sunday, a first-year computer science engineering student — later identified as Nishank Sharma by the police — drove to Nandi Hills on his bike. He was planning to go for a hike at the popular weekend destination.
While navigating the Brahmagiri rocks on Nandi Hills, he lost his footing, and fell 300ft onto a rocky ledge, said the police. Despite injuries to his back, he was able to reach for his phone that was still working. He contacted his family in Delhi and the local police.
The moment they received the alert from the control room, a team led by DySP Vasudev and others launched a search for the teenager. “He switched on his geo-location, which helped us reach him faster. If he hadn’t, we would not have been able to locate him easily,” said Mithun Kumar G.K., Superintendent of Police, Chickballapur district, who supervised the rescue operation.
“We heard him first, and zeroed in on his location. We even spoke to him, but we could not get down to the ledge where he was trapped,” said a police officer who was part of the rescue team.
But when they attempted to lower themselves from the steep cliff, they could not make it beyond 30 ft. “We also realised that it would be highly risky to bring him up the rocky surface given his injuries,” the officer added.
The police immediately sought the help of the district administration who in turn contacted the Indian Air Force requesting support for the rescue operation.
At 4.15 p.m., the Air Force station, Yelahanka, received an SOS message from the DC of Chickballapur. A Mi17 helicopter was promptly launched.
“The terrain being treacherous for a landing, the flight gunner of the Mi17 [helicopter] was daringly lowered by a winch next to the survivor,” said a release from the Indian Air Force. The gun runner was able to safely extricate the 19-year-old from the ledge and winched up to the helicopter with the help of a harness.
According to sources, he had sustained severe back injuries and needed immediate medical attention as he had been trapped without food or water. Mr. Nishank is currently in a private hospital. Mr. Mithun estimated that the entire operation took around five hours.
Nandi Hills is a popular destination for trekkers but the accident highlights the lack of safety measures in place. The local police said they are now stepping up vigil to ensure that trekkers follow basic safety protocol.
