IAF Rescues 24 Labourers Stranded In Floods

The Indian Air Force's and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's timely action saved the lives of 24 labourers who were stranded between two streams at Edupayala in the Medak district on Sunday.

According to a press release, some 24 labourers from Odisha and Madhya Pradesh came to the Medak district around four days ago to work at the Edupayala bridge.

The usual direction of the flow of the flood waters under the bridge is from Singur to Ghanapur village. On September 24, in order to avoid the flooding of villages nearby, the irrigation officials in Ghanapur released the excess water. With this, the 24 were trapped between the two turbulent currents flowing in opposite directions.

When the district administration brought the incident to the notice of the Chief Minister's Office on Saturday, KCR swiftly responded and ordered a government chopper to rescue the marooned from the rivulet, but he was told that only a helicopter of the Indian Air Force could do the job, and so he asked an IAF base in the State to do the job.

The IAF responded quickly and sent a rescue team. On the CM's directives, Deputy Speaker Padma Devendar Reddy and district Collector Ronald Ross camped at Edupayala and supervised the rescue operation. The team reached the Edupayala area and airlifted the stranded labourers from the flood waters. None of the victims sustained any injuries.