Palakkad

An Indian army team on Wednesday rescued a youth who was trapped in a cleft in hill in Kerala's Malampuzha hills in Palakkad since Monday.

Two army teams were involved in the rescue operations after a request from the state government.

"One team of 12 personnel from Madras Regiment Centre, Wellington, consisting of mountain qualified personnel with specialist equipment reached by road at the location at early hours on Wednesday," Army sources said.

The 23-year-old man named Babu from Malampuzha was trapped in a cleft of a steep hill since Monday. Babu, along with three of his friends, had climbed the hill and while coming down, he slipped and fell into the fault line.

After failing to rescue him, his friends rushed downhill and alerted the locals who tried to rescue him but failed.

On Tuesday, an Indian Coast Guard's Chetak helicopter attempted to extricate him but was unable to but was forced to abort the rescue mission due to inclement weather.