Indian man trapped on cliffside for two days without food or water rescued
R Babu had climbed Malampuzha’s Cherad Hill on Monday got trapped between two rocks
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Your support makes all the difference.A man who was trapped on a hill for two days in the Indian state of Kerala has been rescued, authorities said on Wednesday.
R Babu, who along with two friends had climbed Malampuzha’s Cherad Hill on Monday, got trapped between two rocks after he slipped.
Mr Babu was stuck alone as he had continued to climb to reach the top of the hill after his friends abandoned their efforts.
Images released earlier showed Mr Babu balancing himself between the two rocks.
The images had gone viral on social media as Mr Babu’s plight was compared to the 2010 movie 127 hours in which a man was similarly trapped in a canyon and had to eventually cut off his arm to free himself.
On Wednesday, Mr Babu was taken to safety after rescue operations by teams of the Indian Army.
Videos released by the Indian Army on social media showed Mr Babu being pulled onto the top of the hill.
“In a spectacular action, highly qualified Teams of Indian Army have successfully rescued Mr Babu who slipped off a cliff & was stranded in a steep gorge for over 48 hours,” said the Southern Command of the army in a tweet.
Mr Babu thanked the army for rescuing him. Images after his rescue show him sitting arm in arm with rescue officials and kissing them in gratitude.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement that rescue efforts were underway.
“Efforts are in full swing to rescue the youth trapped in #Malampuzha Cherat hill.”
“There are currently two units of the @adgpi at the scene. Army members were able to talk to him. The rescue operation will be intensified today. @IAF_MCC helicopter is ready to be deployed,” Mr Vijayan tweeted.
Prior to his rescue on Wednesday, efforts by several rescue teams had failed.
Rescue efforts by a Coast Guard helicopter were aborted due to the “topography of the terrain and various met conditions,” reported NDTV quoting a press release.
“The helicopter was experiencing heavy downdraft” and therefore, the mission was aborted, the release said.
A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team had also failed to reach Mr Babu.
Subsequently a team of the Southern Command of the Indian Army was contacted to conduct special rescue operations.
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