Thiruvananthapuram: A young man who was trapped on a hill in Kerala’s Palakkad since Monday was rescued this morning after a marathon effort by the army.

Post rescue, the man, R. Babu, dressed in T-shirt and shorts, was seen pictured with smiling helmeted army personnel. Some were even seen clicking selfies and flashing the victory sign.

“Very thanks, Indian Army,” said R. Babu sitting among army men. He then kisses the army personnel as a gesture of thanks and joins the men in chanting “Indian Army ki jai, Bharat mata ki jai”.

Babu climbed the Cherad Hill in Malampuzha along with two friends on Monday. Babu kept climbing even after his friends abandoned the effort, and reached the top, but he slipped and was trapped between two rocks.

“Teams from Bangalore Parachute Regimental Centre were mobilised. Simultaneously we had a highly skilled high altitude warfare team and a couple of mountaineers who had summited Everest, available at the Madras Regimental Centre in Wellington, said Lt. General A. Arun, GoC, Dakshin Bharat Area, detailing the rescue operations.

The army officer also thanked Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for coordinating with the Air Force and providing the Army with the airlift for the team from Bengaluru.

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.

“Two highly skilled men of Madra Regimental Team, rappled down the distance of 250 ft, till they reached Babu who is a young trekker and in a fantastic, daring decision making action, they decided to pull Babu up instead of taking him downhill. So he was almost physically,  bodily carried uphill by two members of this descend team,” said Lt. Gen. A. Arun. The officer noted that the terrain was very difficult, steep and bereft of trees.

“Chances high for a stone, boulder, or in this case a human being, who slips off the cliff, will almost find his way down. Babu needs to consider him immensely fortunate, for being able to get stuck in that cleft,” said Lt. Gen. A. Arun.

Chief Minister Vijayan thanked the officials involved in the rescue operation and said care will be provided to the youth to regain his health.

“Worries have been put to rest as the young man trapped in the Cherad hill in Malampuzha has been rescued. The treatment & care needed to regain his health will be provided now. Thanks to the soldiers who led the rescue operation and everyone who provided timely support,”                                         Vijayan tweeted.