Hundreds of villages were submerged due to incessant rain for six days. (ADGPI - Indian Army's Facebook page)
New Delhi:
Army and air force troops worked through Sunday night to rescue thousands of people stranded across Kashmir, where nearly 150 people have been killed in landslides and the worst floods in six decades. In Srinagar, hundreds of residents remain trapped on roof-tops after the heavily-swollen Jhelum river flooding large parts of the city.
"The Indian Army will not move back to the barracks till the last man is brought to safety," said General Dalbir Singh, Chief of the Army Staff.
There has been no fresh rainfall on Monday, but with virtually all phone lines down in the main city of Srinagar and roads cut off, the exact scale of the disaster is still unclear.
Six days of incessant rains have submerged hundreds of villages.
About 22 air force helicopters and four aircraft have been deployed to evacuate stranded people and to deliver relief. About 120 army units and eight teams of police reservists, equipped with boats and life jackets, were in action.
"With some 750 rescue personnel in operations there, our teams have saved about 5,005 people so far," Sandeep Rai Rathore, inspector general of the National Disaster Response Force, told AFP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi toured the region Sunday and met top relief officials, describing the situation as "a national-level disaster".
"The Indian Army will not move back to the barracks till the last man is brought to safety," said General Dalbir Singh, Chief of the Army Staff.
There has been no fresh rainfall on Monday, but with virtually all phone lines down in the main city of Srinagar and roads cut off, the exact scale of the disaster is still unclear.
Six days of incessant rains have submerged hundreds of villages.
About 22 air force helicopters and four aircraft have been deployed to evacuate stranded people and to deliver relief. About 120 army units and eight teams of police reservists, equipped with boats and life jackets, were in action.
"With some 750 rescue personnel in operations there, our teams have saved about 5,005 people so far," Sandeep Rai Rathore, inspector general of the National Disaster Response Force, told AFP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi toured the region Sunday and met top relief officials, describing the situation as "a national-level disaster".
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
