Andhra Pradesh Flood: Aerial visuals show boats reaching the trucks in Srikakulam to rescue the people.
In a dramatic mission, 55 people and their cattle were rescued this morning from their trucks which were marooned in flood waters in northern Andhra Pradesh. Many parts of Srikakulam district were flooded because of heavy rain and the release of water from a river barrage.
Ten trucks carrying 55 people were trapped in flood waters in Srikakulam after the water levels in the Vamsadhara river rose because of heavy rain in the region. Authorities used boats to reach trucks and rescue the stranded people.
Aerial visuals of the rescue efforts show boats reaching the trucks in the middle of what appears to be a flooded field. The people can be seen standing on the truck tops, waiting for help.
The National Disaster Response Force, the Navy and the Andhra Pradesh Disaster Response Force and the fire department were involved in the efforts to bring the people back to safety. Twenty sheep were also taken out of the trucks.
Eighty cattle, however, were reportedly washed away. The rescue teams made multiple trips to pull out the stranded people.
Water levels have risen in Andhra Pradesh's Godavari river too. Six schoolgirls and a 35-year-old woman are missing after a country boat turned over in Godavari in East Godavari district on Saturday.
A flood alert has been issued to people living on the banks of the Cauvery in Tamil Nadu's Salem district, following the release of one lakh cusecs of water from Karnataka. Residents living on the banks have been asked to move to safer places and also to protect their belongings as the river is expected to be in spate due to heavy inflow from the neighbouring state.