Anugola: Three young tourists stranded on Malyagiri hill in Odisha’s Anugola district were rescued safely on Thursday after spending around 22 hours on the mountain.
The three had gone missing on Wednesday while trekking on the hill near Pallahara after losing their way.
A joint search and rescue operation was launched in the dense forests of Malyagiri Hill in Pallahara sub-division of the district, where three young trekkers remained stranded in the rugged terra
in.
According to sources, a group of seven youths from the neighbouring Keonjhar town had embarked on a mountaineering expedition on Wednesday. While four members of the trekking party managed to safely navigate their way back down the steep slopes, the remaining three got separated and lost their bearings in the dense forest. Upon realising their companions were missing, the trekkers sought immediate assistance from local residents, police, and forest officials.
The Odisha Fire Service personnel were immediately deployed. The operation, however, encountered significant hurdles due to the hill’s difficult, rocky landscape, thick forest canopy and inclement weather, which severely slowed the movement of the rescue personnel as they navigated the slippery, inaccessible trails.
Despite the adverse weather conditions, rescue teams successfully traced the coordinates of the missing trekkers to an area roughly 7 km deep into the hills.
Continuing their efforts, the rescue team eventually reached the stranded tourists and brought them down one by one from the hill, ensuring their safety, sources said.