India News | Army Lauded for Its Rescue Mission in Palakkad

Palakkad (Ker), Feb 9 (PTI) The sensational mission of the Indian Army Mountaineering Team to rescue a trekker trapped in a cleft on a mountain face in Kerala's Palakkad district was lauded by people from all walks of life.

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Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly VD Satheesan and Union Minister V Muraleedharan are among those congratulated the soldiers for their successful mission to rescue Babu who slipped off a cliff and was stranded in a steep gorge for over 48 hours at Cherad Hill of Malampuzha.

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The Army deployed two teams, consisting of qualified mountaineers and Rock climbing experts from Parachute Regimental Centre Bangalore and Madras Regimental Centre Wellington, for the spectacular mission after the Chief Minister sought help to rescue the trekker.

The Army teams reached atop the mountain at midnight yesterday.

One of the Army teams positioned themselves below the mountain base for coordinating the mission from the base.

However, the visibility was too poor to conduct any rescue operations at night.

"The Army reconnaissance mission using drones to locate him commenced at first light early morning today. After locating him, the Army mountaineering party climbed down to the spot where he was trapped and pulled him off from there to the top," a Defence release said here.

He was then airlifted to safety using the Mi-17 Helicopter of the Indian Air Force.

Congratulating the Southern Command of Indian Army & NDRF for rescuing the trekker, Union Minister Muraleedharan said "it is unfortunate that there are some people among us, who, instead of applauding the Army, have been denigrating them."

The Minister said Indian Armed Forces are trained not only to protect and save the borders but also to come to the rescue of the citizens.

"If you do not respect them, at least don't denigrate them," Muraleedharan tweeted.

Thanking the Indian Army, Vijayan said worries have been put to rest as the young man trapped in the Cherad hill in Malampuzha has been rescued.

"Thanks to the soldiers who led the rescue operation and everyone who provided timely support," the Chief Minister tweeted.

Expressing her gratitude to all those involved in the rescue mission, the stranded trekker's mother Rasheeda said she was certain that the Army would rescue her son.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)