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Telangana Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy on Thursday thanked the rescue teams and district officials for safely rescuing eight fishermen and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel who went missing during a rescue operation at Betupalli Lake in Khammam district, adding that no casualties were reported.
The Minister, along with Telangana Minister Thumala Nageshwar Rao and Khammam district officials, visited Betupalli Lake in Sathupalli mandal, where the incident occurred on Wednesday following heavy rainfall. Speaking to the media, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said that overflowing lakes and ponds had caused flooding and damaged crops in several places. "Yesterday, due to heavy rainfall, lakes and ponds overflowed and crops were damaged in several places. The fishermen had gone to fix the net in the lake when the nearby irrigation tank overflowed, leading to a flood, and 8 fishermen went missing. The SDRF teams went inside; two boats overturned, and around 11 SDRF members went missing. They were wearing safety jackets and safely came out after rescuing the fishermen who went missing. We thank all the rescue team members and district officials for saving their lives. No casualties were reported," the Minister said. Meanwhile, Dr K Rajashekar Goud, General Medicine, Khammam Hospital, said that all the rescued fishermen and SDRF personnel were in good health. "All of them are in good health. There was no mortality in the incident," he said. According to Khammam Police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams rescued the eight fishermen and SDRF personnel around 5:30 am on Thursday. The rescue operation was subsequently completed, with no casualties reported. The incident occurred on Wednesday when fishermen were stranded in floodwaters at Betupalli Lake, prompting an SDRF team to launch a rescue operation. However, two boats overturned during the operation, and the fishermen and SDRF personnel went missing before being safely rescued. Taking note of the situation, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy enquired about the disappearance of the SDRF boats and directed the District Collector to intensify efforts and take all necessary measures to ensure the safe rescue of the personnel. The Chief Minister also instructed the Chief Secretary to continuously monitor and review the situation, according to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). (ANI)
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