The incident occurred as teams attempted to reach fishermen trapped by rising waters after rain associated with Cyclone Murasu. A rescue operation turned into an emergency in Telangana’s Khammam district on Wednesday after two boats capsized in the overflowing Bethupalli tank, leaving 11 rescuers missing.
The SDRF launched a search operation using other boats to trace the missing personnel. Eleven personnel of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Fire Services went missing after two rescue boats capsized while they were attempting to rescue five fishermen stranded in the overflowing Betupally Cheruvu (Lake) in Sathupalli mandal of Khammam district. NDRF teams were also summoned from Bhadrachalam to intensify the rescue efforts and retrieve those stranded in the lake. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy directed the District Collector to intensify all rescue efforts and take every possible measure to bring the stranded SDRF personnel to safety. He also instructed the Chief Secretary to continuously monitor the situation and review the progress of the rescue operations. Telangana Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, who represents Khammam district, is also personally monitoring the rescue operations. He also rushed from Hyderabad to Narayanapuram village in Kallur mandal and is expected to reach Bethupalli Lake shortly to inspect the ongoing rescue operations in person.
“Of the 11 SDRF personnel caught in the strong floodwaters after their rescue boat overturned, 10 have been safely brought ashore by rescue teams, while the location of the remaining missing personnel has also been traced,” he said.
