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IAF rescues 19-yr-old trekker who fell off a hill in Bengaluru
An official said that while trekking on the hill, the student slipped and fell around 200 meters. Since the side of the hill, where he fell, was steep he couldn’t climb back.
A 19-year-old trekker who was trapped on a hill on the outskirts of Bengaluru was rescued by an Indian Air Force helicopter on Sunday evening. The trekker, who was identified as Nishant by the officials of the department of fire and emergency services was stuck on the hill for more than eight hours after he slipped and fell more than 200 feet.
Police have identified the student as Nishant Kaul, a native of New Delhi, who is studying for his engineering degree in Bengaluru. An official of the Nandi Hill police station said that on Sunday morning Kaul came to Nandi Hills for trekking, however, he was sent back since no vehicles are allowed on Nandi Hills as per a new guideline. “Only those with permission are allowed to enter Nandi Hills. Since he couldn’t trek here, he decided to trek on an adjacent hill – Bhramagiri,” said the officer.
The official said that while trekking on the hill, he slipped and fell around 200 meters. Since the side of the hill, where he fell, was steep he couldn’t climb back. “We believe that a tree that was in the way slowed down his fall and allowed him to stay put. There are five peaks around Nandi Hills, and they are not accessible by road, so rescue workers had to trek up the hill after they got information about the trapped trekker at around 12.30 pm,” the officer added.
GK Midhun, superintendent of police, Chikkabalapur said they received information about the trapped trekker around noon. “He had made calls to his friends and family. He even sent his location and photographs, which helped us identify his location. But since the hillside was too steep rescue workers could not reach him. The rescue workers were able to climb down around 20 feet but had to stop since there was no way forward,” said the official.
When the attempts to rescue him by the fire department, SDRF and NDRF failed, the district administration decided to call the Indian Air Force for help. Using the location provided by the trekker, IAF’s Mi-17 helicopter began to search for him and managed to rescue him using a winch. The helicopter transported him to Yelahanka air force base and later he was shifted to a private hospital.
“We had called the Air Force since the rescue was getting dangerous for the department officials. As I said, the hill is very steep, and the rescue workers were not able to go down any further, even though they were able to hear him. He was able to communicate using his phone but eventually, his phone died,” the officer said.
The SP said that as per initial reports the youth had suffered some injuries in the fall. “We have been told that he has injuries from the fall and he has injured his back as well. Instructions have been given from the administration to provide him with required medical help and further details will be available after it,” the SP added.
The incident comes days after a trapped trekker in Kerala’s Palakkad district was rescued from a hill after 45 hours. Twenty-three-year-old R Babu was stuck in a hill cleft in Malampuzha village since Monday. The rescue operation was carried out jointly by the personnel of the Indian Army, the Navy and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
