Indian troops rescue 350 children trapped by flood
Published: July 2, 2005
Troops in motorboats rescued around 350 children from the first floor of their school hostel after it was surrounded by floodwaters in India’s Gujarat state.
Soldiers and police snatched the students from the first floor after the ground floor of the building was submerged in Harup village, 75 km (45 miles) south of Gujarat’s main city of Ahmedabad, witnesses and officials said.
“Our prime focus was to evacuate the children and take them to safer places,” senior Gujarat government official Rajesh Kishore told Reuters.
Heavy rain and thick cloud prevented helicopters from flying on Saturday.
“It is an aerial tsunami,” Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi told reporters in the state capital of Gandhinagar. Heavy monsoon rains have caused rivers to burst their banks.
Early on Saturday, waters receded in some areas, allowing about 400 passengers stuck in a train for over 30 hours to leave their carriages. Many walked to higher ground but some had to be rescued by army boats and local volunteers.
PRIVATE RESCUE OPERATION
About 90 of the passengers were rescued after a man who, on receiving a mobile phone message from his trapped wife, drove to dry land near the train and formed a human chain of local volunteers who stood in the water and brought women, children and older passengers to safety.
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Treo 650 PDA Unlocked GSM Cell Phone“It was my duty to help save others, besides my wife and daughter.” businessman Rajesh Seth told Reuters.
New Delhi has announced an aid package of 5 billion rupees ($115 million).
Authorities were providing drinking water to homeless people living in schools and makeshift relief camps on higher ground.
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