New Delhi: In a joint operation carried out on Sunday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Chikkaballapur police successfully rescued a 19-year-old trekker who had slipped and fallen into a 300-foot-deep gorge at Nandi Hills in Karnataka.
In a video shared by news agency ANI, the IAF chopper can be seen hovering around the place where the 19-year-old youth was stuck in a gorge.
The youth, Nishank Sharma, is from Delhi and studies in an engineering college in Bengaluru.
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Speaking to news agency PTI, Chikkaballapur Superintendent of Police GK Mithun Kumar said: "Nishank had come alone for trekking and fell into the gorge. After slipping, he, fortunately, got stuck. Had he slipped from there, he would have fallen into a cliff of about 300 feet below."
The police rushed to the spot along with teams from the State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) after Nishank called them and explained his situation. However, they couldn't rescue the trekker and contacted the Indian Air Force station at Yelahanka, Hindustan Times reported.
The police reportedly guided the IAF to the stranded victim's location, but due to the treacherous terrain the IAF Mi17 couldn't land. The flight gunner was then lowered to pick Nishank up.
The operation lasted over five hours, The Hindu reported. Quoting sources, the report said the yourh trapped without food or water had sustained severe back injuries and needed immediate medical attention.
“He was taken to the Yelahanka Air Base and from there to a private hospital,” SP Mithun Kumar GK, who supervised the rescue operation, was quoted as saying.
Nandi Hills is a popular destination for trekkers. The local police have said they are stepping up vigil to ensure all thise going up for trekking followed basic safety protocol.
The Nandi Hills operation comes weeks after a similar rescue operation was carried out by the IAF along with the Navy and the NDRF to rescue a trekker stuck on a hill in Kerala Palakkad for 45 hours.