Trekker's mother and brother die after being hit by train

The mother and brother of young trekker R Babu, who was trapped in the face of a mountain cleft and was rescued by the Indian Army through an operation two years ago, were found dead after being hit by a train in this north Kerala district, police said on Wednesday.

The deceased-Rasheeda (46) and her younger son Shaji (23)- were found dead near a railway track on Tuesday night.

Malampuzha police said inquest procedures were progressing and the primary assumption was that it was a case of suicide.

After learning about the incident, the bodies were soon shifted to the mortuary of a nearby government hospital, they added.

Babu is currently at his house in Malampuzha here, police added.

Babu, along with two others, had in February 2022, decided to climb to the top of Cherad hill here, but the other two abandoned the effort halfway. However, the young trekker continued to climb to the hilltop, and after reaching there, slipped and fell and got trapped between rocks on the mountain face.

The Army had deployed two teams consisting of qualified mountaineers and rock climbing experts from Parachute Regimental Centre, Bangalore and Madras Regimental Centre, Wellington for his rescue.