As many as 80 tourists, who were stranded in the forested region near the Muthyala Dhara waterfall in Venkatapuram mandal of Mulugu district on July 26 night, were rescued by joint teams of the police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Disaster Response Force personnel in the early hours today.
The rescue operation began on July 26 night soon after the tourists made a distress call by dialing ‘100’ after a swollen stream trapped them in the forests while they were returning from a sightseeing tour of the waterfall through a trekking path.
The joint teams traced the location of the stranded tourists based on mobile phone signals and rescued all of them braving the inclement weather.
Mulugu Superintendent of Police Gaush Alam supervised the overnight rescue operation that ended on a successful note.
The tourists, men in the age group of 20-50, belong to the old undivided Warangal, Khammam, and other neighbouring districts, sources said.
The district authorities reiterated their appeal to people to remain indoors in view of incessant heavy rains in Mulugu district and elsewhere in the State.