Members of the armed forces trained in mountain operations brought to closure one of the most daring rescue operations ever witnessed in Kerala on Wednesday securing R Babu, a fallen trekker, and help him from the crevasse of a steep rock face in the heights of the Palakkad ranges where he was trapped for 48 hours.

The State Government had sought the services of the National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF), the Army, the Air Force, the Navy and the Coast Guard after it was clear that the mission was beyond the State police or the Fire and Rescue Services after the youngster, member of a neighbourhood team, met with the accident while climbing down the 1,000-metre-high rock.

Members of the Armed Forces conducting the rescue operations on Wednesday in the wilds of Malampuzha in Palakkad district, Kerala.

Members of the Armed Forces conducting the rescue operations on Wednesday in the wilds of Malampuzha in Palakkad district, Kerala. | Photo Credit: (handout)

Army’s launches ‘Op Palakkad’

A statement from the Defence headquarters said, the highly qualified teams of Indian Army successfully rescued Babu to safety after he fell into a crevasse and was stranded in a steep gorge at Cherad Hill of Malampuzha in Palakkad district. 

The operation, named ‘Op Palakkad,’ was launched under the aegis of Lt Gen A Arun, General Officer Commanding, Dakshin Bharat Area. Various civil and defence agencies had tried in vain to to rescue him from the dangerous cleft, across the treacherous rocky mountain face.  

On Tuesday, the Indian Coast Guard had tried to rescue him using a Chetak helicopter. But the mission could not be completed due to bad weather. The helicopter could not hover near the mountain’s leeward side due to the dam-induced high air turbulence in the hillock from large water body of Malampuzha Dam.

High air turbulence

It was at this juncture that the Kerala Government and the District Disaster Management Committee, Palakkad, requested the Army to help in the rescue operations.  

The Army deployed two teams, consisting of qualified mountaineers and rock climbing experts from its Parachute Regimental Centre, Bengaluru, and Madras Regimental Centre, Wellington. The Army teams reached atop the mountain at midnight on Tuesday. 

One of the teams positioned itself at the mountain base for coordinating the mission. However, visibility was poor for night operations. The Army reconnaissance mission using a drone commenced at the break of dawn on Wednesday morning. 

Babu located, air lifted to safety

After locating Babu, the Army mountaineering party climbed down to the spot where he was trapped and was pulled him off from there to the top. He was then airlifted to safety using the Mi-17 Helicopter of the Indian Air Force. 

People from all walks of life, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Cabinet colleagues, lauded the l Army’s rescue mission. Babu and his family thanked the efforts of the Army and other agencies involved the rescue missions.

Friends give up midway

Earlier on Monday, Babu’s friends had given up the climb midway, but Babu continued on his own. It was on his retreat that he slipped and fell into a cave-like crevasse by noon, injuring his leg. He conveyed to his friends and homestead about the accident and sent selfies from his mobile showing his vulnerable perch, about half way down the steep rock face.

Babu himself sent SOS messages to the Kerala Fire and Rescue Services, waved his shirt from his perch during the day and flashed his mobile during the night into Monday as he dared the unforgiving weather ranging from extreme hot in the day to stone cold in the night, not to speak of the fearsome stillness and solitude, and very real and live threat from wild animals.

Drones fail their mission

Drones deployed by the Kerala Survey Department managed to locate Babu from the heights on Tuesday but drinking water and food supplies latched on to them could not reach him as they lost way in the high winds in the elevated altitude.

Babu survived the biting cold in the night but kept a wait for the next mission even as the sun blasted in full force heating up the rock face through the day on Tuesday. By then, the Palakkad district administration and the State Government had sent rescue requests to the NDRF and the Armed Forces. An Army rescue team each was then deployed from Bengaluru and Wellington.

Enter, members of Army team

Army teams had reached the spot at Malampuzha in Malappuram (Palakkad) by Tuesday night by which time the Kerala Forests Department, Fire and Rescue Services, and the NDRF had given up their separate missions either due to failing light or the unmerciful nature of the terrain or harsh weather conditions that changed drastically from day to night.

Personnel from the Armed Forces managed to reach out to Babu by 9.30 am with drinking water and food as they lowered themselves by ropes. Babu was in good spirits even after surviving two days and two nights without food or water.

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