Talangana Man Trapped Between Rocks In Forest For 36 Hours Rescued

A man, who was precariously stuck in a narrow space between rocks in a forest area in Kamareddy district of Telangana, was safely rescued on Thursday following about a 24-hour-long operation.

C Raju of Reddypet village slipped into the gap between the rocks and got trapped, without being able to move his body, on Tuesday last.

The incident happened when Raju was trying to take out his cell phone which had fallen inside the rocks when he was walking on a hillock in that area along with a friend.

After learning about the incident, the family members tried to rescue him and alerted the police on Wednesday after being unsuccessful in their effort.

Police along with officials from other departments launched a rescue operation on Wednesday at around 4 pm after receiving information.

Controlled blast was conducted on Thursday to break the rocks as part of efforts to rescue the man, a police official, supervising the rescue operation said.

Initially, the operation started with the help of earth-moving equipment to break the boulders besides men trying to break the rocks manually.

Controlled blast was conducted by ensuring that broken rocks did not fall on him, the official said. Officials supplied oxygen and liquid food like fruit juice to Raju.

Ashok, a relative of Raju, played a key role in the rescue operation by providing food to him at regular intervals by reaching near him inside the rocks and also speaking to him to give courage.

Kamareddy District Superintendent of Police B Srinivas Reddy said the boulders where he was stuck had to be removed and about 10 boulders were cleared one after another.

In the final stage, two more boulders where he was stuck had to be removed. Finally, Raju was rescued safely after a boulder on which he was lying was brought down, he said.

"We are happy. It was a very difficult operation. We are happy that Raju could be pulled out without Raju being hurt," the SP said.

Along with police personnel, forest, revenue, medical, fire service, and also local public coordinated in the rescue operation, another official said.

Raju was rushed to a hospital after being rescued at around 2 PM on Thursday. "I got inside to take out the cell phone and tried to come out but I could not," Raju told TV channels, from the hospital bed.

He said he was not afraid despite being stuck between the boulders for three days.

Doctors treating Raju said he is stable and he will be kept in observation for the next two days.

Feeling relieved after her husband was rescued following a protracted operation, Raju's wife thanked all those involved in the rescue efforts.

Though she was anxious, she said she was hopeful of Raju coming out alive, as he was able to speak.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)