Kerala: Efforts on to rescue youth from rock cavity

Efforts to rescue a youth who fell off a steep hill and ended up in a cavity on the rock face in Kerala’s Palakkad district continued throughout the night. The distraught youth, who sustained injuries in the fall, has spent more than 40 hours in the rock cavity without food or water, braving extreme weather conditions.

Two teams of the Army, one from the Madras Regimental Centre at Wellington in Ooty and another from Bengaluru reached Palakkad last night for the rescue operations. NDRF teams, state police, forest, and revenue officials are  also in the area assisting the rescue efforts.

An army team reached the hilltop early this morning and was able to talk to the youth from a  distance.

Army personnel is likely to rappel down the steep rock using ropes in an attempt to rescue the youngster.

The youth along with three friends went trekking at Cherad Hills in Malampuzha forests on Monday, when he accidentally slipped and fell down the steep hill.