Teenager Gets Trapped After Falling 300 Feet Into Gorge During Solo Trek, Survives

A solo trekker, who fell at least 300 feet into a gorge in India, was rescued by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the National and State Disaster Response Forces on Sunday.

The incident took place in Nandi Hill, about 37 miles from the southern Indian city of Bengaluru.

The 19-year-old, who was from the northern state of Delhi, fell into the gorge and got trapped, a police official told the Press Trust of India. The teenager was identified only as Nishank.

"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," Chikkaballapura district's superintendent of police, GK Mithun Kumar, said, media outlet NDTV reported.

Kumar said Nishank was somehow able to message the police control room and share his location. Soon, the police and response teams arrived at the scene to rescue him. However, when they were unsuccessful, they called the IAF for assistance.

The IAF was able to locate the stranded, immobile victim, the authorities said. As the terrain was unfavorable for landing, the flight gunner of the Mi17 was lowered by a winch close to the trekker. The flight gunner then helped him harness and lifted him up. The onboard air force medical assistant attended to the survivor.

The teenager was later rushed to a hospital for treatment of any injuries.

In a similar incident, a 4-year-old boy in Kentucky miraculously survived a 70 feet fall into a gorge while hiking with his parents near the Princess Arch section of the Red River Gorge in October. The authorities said the child slipped away from his folks and “took a tumbling fall off of a cliff." The boy reportedly plummeted a total of 70 feet and hit multiple ledges on his way down. The child's father immediately went down the cliff to find his son. He then picked up the boy, and carried him downhill, and across a suspension bridge. Miraculously, the child survived the freaky fall with minor bruises. The child was taken to a hospital for evaluation, and was said to be in a good condition.