Hyderabad: Eleven personnel of SDRF and Fire Services, who went missing after two rescue boats overturned while saving trapped fishermen in a lake in Telangana’s Khammam district, have been safely rescued, officials said on Thursday.
Five of the missing personnel were rescued late Wednesday night, while the remaining were safely brought to shore early Thursday morning.
The incident occurred in the Bethupalli tank in Sattupalli mandal of Khammam district when State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel were trying to rescue 10 fishermen trapped in the lake, which was overflowing due to heavy rain.
One of the rescued SDRF personnel said the two boats overturned after a collision, and they were all washed away for about half a kilometre due to the heavy water flow. However, they managed to catch hold of trees.
Later, SDRF teams rescued the trapped personnel and fishermen.
Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy confirmed that the SDRF personnel have been rescued.
He congratulated the rescue teams that participated in round-the-clock relief operations and saved the lives of stranded fishermen and SDRF personnel, as well as the officials, who worked in coordination, and the local public representatives.
After receiving information about the incident late at night, he rushed to the Khammam district and was continuously monitoring the situation from Narayanpur in the Kalluru division.
He had also informed Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
On the CM’s direction, the District Collector, Superintendent of Police, and the Khammam Police Commissioner coordinated the rescue efforts. Personnel from Revenue and Police also participated in the rescue efforts.
Heavy rains with gusty winds lashed the undivided Khammam district on Wednesday under the impact of cyclone ‘Murasu’, which crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast on Tuesday
Road connectivity to many areas was snapped as the rains inundated low-lying areas, and crops over a large area were damaged.
According to preliminary estimates, paddy, cotton, maize and chilli crops over 15,000 acres were damaged.