Kerala Forests Minister AK Saseendran has said that his Department will not proceed against trekker R Babu, who was heroically rescued saved from an inaccessible rock crevasse by specialists of the Indian Army on Wednesday, for trespassing into the government-owned property and precipitating a largely avoidable crisis.

Saseendran told newspersons here that he had discussions with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the State Chief Wildlife Warden in this connection and had collectively agreed to stop any action that may have been initiated against the 23-year-old.

Suffers second fall

It is now learnt that Babu had suffered a second fall from his initial perch to another down the steep rockface, 34 hours into the ordeal. He had initially slipped and fell into in the first crevasse on retreating alone from the rarely scaled summit of the rockface in Kumbachimala, rising along the Western Ghats at the dam-bound Malampuzha in Palakkad district.

According to Babu, the second fall happened when he tried to move his leg after pulling a muscle. He had a providential escape as his body got locked into another cleft. The first fall had happened by Monday noon and Babu had to endure 45 hours in all in the wilderness braving the harsh elements. His fellow climbers had given up on the arduous trek much earlier.

It was from the second perch on the rockface that he was saved by B Balakrishnan, member of the Army team from Wellington, who handed over drinking water and food before helping Babu with a climb-back to safety.

Convalescing in hospital

After being successfully secured to safety by mid-morning on Wednesday, Babu was airlifted in a helicopter commissioned by the State government from the Navy and admitted to hospital in Palakkad where he is convalescing.

Earlier, attempts by State government agencies including the police and fire and rescue services, the Indian Coast Guard, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the civil defence to reach out to him had failed.

These apart, Kerala Survey Department, government medical teams, people’s representatives and local residents too had chipped in variously with the rescue efforts that lasted close to one hour from daybreak on Wednesday.

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