A 23-year-old youngster named Babu, a trekker, who was trapped on a hill in Kerala's Palakkad since Monday has been finally rescued this morning after a marathon effort by the army and NDRF. R Babu climbed the Cherad Hill in Malampuzha along with two friends on Monday. While Babu continued climbing, his friends abandoned the effort. After Babu reached the top, he slipped and was trapped between two rocks on the hill. It was a small cavity-like place which was barely big enough for him to squat in. The height of the hill is said to be around 1000 metres, and Babu was stuck 600 metres away from the base and 400 metres from the top of the hill. Babu himself made it possible for the rescuers to find him, after he sent pictures of him on the small cliffside cavity to his family via WhatsApp. After his family forwarded them to officials, the rescue officials were able to trace him. Meanwhile, Babu's friends also informed the locals and the police about the situation. 

"Two highly skilled men of Madras Regimental Team, rappled down the distance of 250 ft, till they reached Mr Babu who is a young trekker and in a fantastic, daring decision making action, they decided to pull Mr Babu up instead of taking him downhill. So he was almost physically,  bodily carried uphill by two members of this descend team,"  Lt General A Arun, GoC, Dakshin Bharat Area, detailing the rescue operations. The army team walked all night and as dawn broke, with the help of drones and cameras on board, identified the specific location, he said. The rescue officials said that the mission was possible because of Babu’s cooperation despite him being exhausted.

Post rescue, Babu, was seen pictured with smiling helmeted army personnel. In one of the pictures, Babu is seen kissing an army personnel as a gesture of thanks and joins the men in chanting "Indian Army ki jai, Bharat mata ki jai". He has sustained a minor injury on his knee. He was immediately given water and food after rescuing.

For the past 26 hours and counting, rescue officials are in #Kerala trying to get to this 23-year-old trekker stuck in a cavity on the side of a hill. So far, they haven't been able to reach him. Kerala CM has now asked Indian Army for help. pic.twitter.com/tOf7dBKfCQ

— Sanyukta (@dramadhikari) February 8, 2022

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.

— Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) February 9, 2022

Drone shot of Babu being rescued! It took ~45 hours, 75 persons and Babu's unwavering will power to bring him to the top. After trekker Babu slipped and fell in the Kurumbachi hills, he was stuck in a small cavity in the cliffside since Monday. pic.twitter.com/373pfs9fnd

— azeefa (@AzeefaFathima) February 9, 2022