All 11 people, including members of the Telangana State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the fire services department, and a local resident, who went missing after their boats capsized in the turbulent floodwaters of the Bethupalli tank in Sathupalli mandal of Khammam district on Wednesday night, were rescued by Thursday morning, officials said.
According to the Khammam district fire officer Ajay Kumar, the rescue operation was jointly taken up by teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the fire services department “all through the night”.
Some of the missing personnel had managed to stay together at one location and had spoken with the authorities by phone. Rescue teams subsequently intensified their efforts to trace them.
“One person was rescued at around 2.15 am, followed by four others at approximately 3 am. We subsequently located three more personnel, and they were brought to shore. The operation was suspended temporarily and was resumed at 5 am. In the next couple of hours, all the remaining stranded persons were rescued,” Kumar said.
District collector T S Divakar remained at the accident site until around 3 am and personally monitored the rescue operations.
“The rescued personnel were shifted to the Sathupalli hospital for medical attention,” the official said.
What happened?
{{/usCountry}}“The rescued personnel were shifted to the Sathupalli hospital for medical attention,” the official said.
What happened?
{{/usCountry}}The incident occurred at Bethupalli tank, which was overflowing following heavy rains in the district. According to the officials, five fishermen ventured into the tank around Wednesday afternoon to set up fishing nets as water was flowing over the tank's surplus weir. However, the sudden rise in the water level left them stranded in the middle of the tank.
They alerted members of the local fishermen's cooperative society on the tank bund, seeking immediate assistance. In an attempt to rescue them, one person ventured into the water on a makeshift raft. Meanwhile, two other fishermen who arrived from elsewhere were also caught in the floodwaters. As a result, eight people were stranded in the tank.
Upon receiving information, a rescue team from the fire services department rushed to the spot by boat and safely rescued three people. However, the remaining five fishermen remained stranded in the tank.
Subsequently, 10 personnel, accompanied by a local resident, launched another rescue operation to save the five fishermen. The team comprised six police personnel from the Kothagudem battalion and four Fire Services personnel. They set out in two boats at around 7.30 pm.
However, the boats capsized due to the strong current of the overflowing water, sweeping all 11 occupants away.
Meanwhile, the five fishermen who had initially been trapped in the tank managed to reach a mound of earth in the middle of the water body. With water up to their legs, they held on to each other's hands and waited for help.
A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team from Vijayawada reached the stranded fishermen at around 10.30 pm and successfully rescued all five at approximately 11.20 pm.
State ministers Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy and Tummala Nageswara Rao spoke to the district collector over the phone and enquired about the situation and the progress of the rescue efforts.
The ministers sought details of the operation and the measures being taken to ensure the safety of those stranded in the overflowing tank.