In Kerala’s Palakkad, the Indian Army, Navy, and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have undertaken one of the largest rescue efforts in history to save a trapped trekker. R Babu, 23, has been stuck in a hill cleft in Palakkad’s Malampuzha village since Monday. Rescuers are about 200 metres away.
R Babu, 23, was trekking the hill in Malampuzha, Kerala’s Palakkad district, with three of his friends on Monday when he was involved in the mishap later that evening. Since then, he has been stranded there, and rescuers are anxiously trying to reach him.
His friends, who were able to safely down the hill after abandoning the hike halfway due to the accident, stated he responded to their calls at first, but they couldn’t find him in the mountain fissure.
Navy choppers came on Tuesday and flew multiple missions, but due to the hazardous terrain, they were unable to extract him.
A Coast Guard helicopter pilot attempted to hover near the ridge where Babu is stranded, but the flight was canceled owing to a “strong downdraft caused by the topography of the terrain,” according to the force. Food and water deliveries have also fallen through, and authorities are attempting to keep wild animals at bay by igniting flambeaus.
The rescue attempt was restarted on Wednesday morning after being interrupted on Tuesday.
