IAF rescues 2 fishermen near J-K’s swollen Tawi River

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Two fishermen were rescued by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in a two-hour operation after they were left stranded near an under-construction bridge on the Tawi River in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday morning, officials said.

In a dramatic video of the rescue effort, tweeted by news agency Asian News International, the men can be seen sitting on the bridge’s pier as the muddy waters of the Tawi rage around them. An IAF helicopter can be seen approaching the stranded men and IAF personnel is seen winching down.

The personnel lands on the small strip of concrete and makes his way to the stranded men. He then attaches a rope around their waists as he signals to the hovering helicopter’s pilot and the chopper climbs slowly, taking them to safety.

“There were four civilians who had gone for fishing in the swollen Tawi River in Jammu city. Around 10.30am, they were stuck in a flash flood,” said a police officer.

Two of them were washed away but were located at a distance and the others were rescued by IAF, he added.

Jammu’s sub-divisional magistrate said all the four were fishermen from outside the state.

“We have asked the people to stay away from rivers in views of their rising levels,” he said.

Heavy rains have lashed several north Indian states over the weekend with Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand the worst hit among them. More than 30 people have been killed and a dozen reported missing.

Flood alerts have been sounded in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh as rivers, including the Yamuna, swelled to dangerous levels.