The Army jawans have got into action to rescue a young boy who fell off a cliff and is trapped on a hill in Palakkad in Kerala since Monday. A second team of expert Army mountaineers and rock climbers from Parachute Regimental Centre Bangalore was flown in by aircraft to Sulur, reached the rescue location at 4 a.m. and joined the first team from Madras Regimental Centre, Wellington.

Sources said communication had been established with the boy who was safe while the rescue operation started at 6 a.m. Drones are being used for surveillance of the location and a helicopter has been kept on standby at Sulur Airbase.

The boy named Babu fell off a steep cliff and is about 30 metres from the clifftop. He is trapped inside the fault line of Koormbachi hillock in the Malampuzha mountains. He has a leg injury and is suffering severe muscle pain.

Babu and his two friends on Monday afternoon had gone on a trek in the Koormbachi hill. His friends returned halfway as they found the climb too steep but Babu kept going. Following this he slipped from the top and got trapped in the hillock’s fault line.

He has shared photographs of his injured leg.

A rescue team had swung into action but had to retreat as they were unable to reach the steep gorge. A National Disaster Response Team is also stationed near the cliff.

Yesterday, a Chetak helicopter of the Indian Coast Guard attempted a rescue but was unable to complete the mission due to inclement weather. Another sortie will be attempted by them today.