Drone video of Kerala trekker’s rescue warms hearts online

After 45 hours the 23-year-old newspaper vendor in Kerala’s Palakkad, was rescued from the edge of a small cavity on the side of a Kurumbachi hill near their village of Cheradu in Malampuzha.

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The drone operator from Kerala shared unseen video of the trekker's rescue.

A video of the rescue of a 23-year-old man, who was trapped in a deep crevice on a steep hill in Kerala for more than 40 hours, by security force personnel, is going viral.

Cherattil Babu, a newspaper vendor, was hoisted to safety by the personnel of the Indian Army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), trained in mountaineering, using a rope. Sooraj P Nath, a photographer and drone service operator in the area, who joined the operation to guide the rescue team, shared a touching moment on Instagram, and it quickly went viral.

The drone footage shows one of the personnel giving a water bottle to the man and gently tapping his head in reassurance. When Babu was escorted back to the top of the hill, he profoundly thanked all and sealed his gratitude with a kiss.

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A post shared by Sooraj P Nath (@sooraj_p_nath)

“Thank you to the Indian Army for bringing me up (to the hilltop),” Babu said shortly after being rescued Wednesday. He was later airlifted in a helicopter to Kanjikode and transferred to the Palakkad District Hospital.

🙏 #IndianArmy യ്ക്ക് അഭിവാദ്യങ്ങൾ

കരസേനാ സംഘത്തിന്റെ നേതൃത്വത്തിൽ
പാലക്കാട് മലമ്പുഴയിൽ മലയിടുക്കിൽ കുടുങ്ങിയ യുവാവിനെ രക്ഷിച്ചു@Tri_Service pic.twitter.com/ozNiSigHTm

— PIB in KERALA (@PIBTvpm) February 9, 2022

Thanking Lieutenant Colonel Hemanth Raj, who led the rescue mission, Nath shared several unseen footage from the operation.

Babu and two of his friends started climbing the 1,000-feet-high Kurumbachi hill near their village of Cheradu in Malampuzha on Monday. Not a regular or professional trekker, he did not inform his mother and younger brother at home about his adventure. Soon things went awry and he ended up inside a niche in a deep gorge on the cliff.

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. pic.twitter.com/yLaR6Si4AU

— CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) February 9, 2022

While rescue efforts began with volunteers and disaster personnel to save the man, it didn’t yield any result. As more than a day passed and Babu remained without food and water, the Kerala government Tuesday sought the help of the Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF).

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