Rescue personnel survive after boats capsize in Telangana lake
Three responders clung to a tree overnight following a boat accident at Bethupalli Peddacheruvu in Khammam.
Three rescue personnel survived an overnight ordeal after two boats capsized in Bethupalli Peddacheruvu in Khammam on Wednesday, according to The Hindu. The incident occurred during an operation to rescue six stranded fishermen when strong currents and rising water levels caused the boats to overturn.
Naresh, a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel and constable with the Telangana State Special Police (TSSP) 6th Battalion, was one of the three who clung to a tree. He remained in the tree throughout the night until a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team rescued him and the others in the early hours of Thursday.
Naresh said the experience felt like a rebirth. He recalled that the team entered the lake in two boats around 7 pm on Wednesday, but the water level rose suddenly and currents became strong. He and two others jumped into the water before the boats capsized and managed to climb a tree.
Another SDRF personnel was swept nearly half a kilometre away from the site before grabbing tree branches. A police official involved in the operation said the survivors stayed afloat by wearing life-jackets and attributed their survival to their training.
Officials suspect a breach in a minor irrigation tank upstream, caused by heavy rainfall from cyclone Murasu, led to the sudden surge in water levels. The rescue operation was supervised by Khammam Collector Divakara T.S. and involved the NDRF, SDRF, and Fire Services.
Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy visited the site on Thursday morning. He lauded the emergency response teams for their perseverance and felicitated the personnel involved in the operation.