Hyderabad, Nov 5: Eleven people, including disaster response and fire services personnel, were rescued after two boats capsized in the strong currents of an overflowing lake in Telangana’s Khammam district, exposing the dangers faced by rescue teams operating in flood-hit water bodies. The incident followed an attempt to save fishermen stranded in Bethupalli Lake after heavy rainfall caused the water level to rise.
Officials confirmed on November 5 that all 11 people swept away when the rescue boats overturned had been located and brought to safety by Thursday morning. The group included personnel from the Telangana State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Fire Services Department and a local resident.
The incident began on Wednesday afternoon when five fishermen entered Bethupalli tank to lay fishing nets despite water flowing over its surplus weir. A sudden rise in the water level and powerful currents left them stranded away from the shore, preventing them from returning safely.
The fishermen contacted members of their local cooperative society who were present on the tank bund. One person subsequently attempted to reach them using a makeshift raft, while two other fishermen who arrived from another area also became trapped in the currents. This brought the number of people stranded in the water to eight.
A Fire Services team reached the location with a boat and rescued three people. However, five fishermen remained trapped in the middle of the tank, prompting authorities to organise another operation.
At around 7.30 pm, a team of 10 personnel and a local resident launched the second rescue attempt using two boats. The team comprised six police personnel from the Kothagudem battalion and four Fire Services personnel. Both boats capsized in the strong current, sweeping all 11 occupants into the floodwaters.
The five fishermen who had initially become stranded managed to reach a mound of earth in the middle of the tank. An NDRF team dispatched from Vijayawada reached them at around 10.30 pm and brought all five to safety by approximately 11.20 pm.
Meanwhile, the NDRF and Fire Services teams continued searching for the 11 people swept away when the rescue boats overturned. Officials confirmed their rescue by Thursday morning, bringing the operation to an end with all those involved accounted for.
