In a meticulous operation, personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescued nine farmers of Bornapalli village in Raikal mandal, who were stranded on an island in the swollen Godavari river, in boats amid incessant drizzle late on Tuesday evening.
Sources said the tenant farmers were stuck on the island due to flash floods in the Godavari on Tuesday afternoon.
As the news spread, Collector G. Ravi and Superintendent of Police Ch. Sindhu Sharma rushed to Bornapally in the afternoon and monitored the rescue operations. A NDRF team reached the spot in the evening and evacuated all the stranded farmers safely, sources added.
Reporter missing
Meanwhile, a reporter of a TV news channel went missing after the car he was travelling in along with his friend was reportedly swept away in a swollen stream at a culvert near Ramajipeta village in the same mandal on Tuesday evening.
According to unconfirmed reports, the incident occurred when the reporter was heading to Bornapally to cover the NDRF’s rescue operation.
The reporter’s friend reached Ramajipeta around 8 p.m. and alerted the local villagers about the incident. Efforts are on to trace the missing reporter when reports last came in.
