IAF rescues 13 fishermen stranded on Brahmaputra island in Assam

Guwahati: The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Tuesday rescued 13 fishermen, who were stranded on a small island in the flooded Brahmaputra in Assam’s Dibrugarh district since June 28, State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) officials said.

The ASDMA had requested the IAF to help rescue the fishermen from the Hatia Ali area in the district.

The IAF in a post on the X said: “IAF rescued 13 marooned survivors from a small island in the flooded Brahmaputra, north of Dibrugarh in Assam.”

“On 02 Jul 24, after a sunrise takeoff, a Mi-17 IV helicopter from AFS Mohanbari flew in challenging weather conditions and undertook rescue ops from a marshy piece of land. The coordinated efforts of Pilot and Flt Gunner ensured prompt and safe boarding of 13 survivors. Emergency First Aid was provided by the Indian Air Force after the rescue,” the IAF said in the post.

The fishermen had been stranded since June 28. An ASDMA official said that national and state Disaster Response Force and Inland Water Transport boats tried to reach the marooned people but had to abandon efforts due to rising water levels and extreme currents of the river.

Dibrugarh district has been severely affected by the second wave of flood with most localities in eastern Assam inundated for the past week.

The IAF had rescued eight State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel and a revenue official on Sunday from Jonai in Dhemaji district when they were stranded in another sandbar area during relief operations for the flood-hit people.

The flood situation in Assam has turned serious since Sunday following incessant rainfall in Arunachal Pradesh. A population of over 6.44 lakh has been affected in 19 districts.

The death toll in floods has risen to 35 so far this year while many other people died in storms and landslides in different parts of the state.

The flood-hit districts are Kamrup, Golaghat, Majuli, Lakhimpur, Karimganj, Cachar, Dhemaji, Morigaon, Udalguri, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Nagaon, Sivasagar, Darrang, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Tamulpur, Biswanath and Jorhat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday in a phone call discussed the flood situation in the state with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

CM Sarma in his post on the X said: “Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji called me a short while ago to enquire about the flood situation in Assam.”

“I explained to him that Assam is experiencing a second wave of floods this year due to heavy rains in Arunachal Pradesh and part of our upper Assam districts. I also briefed him about the relief measures undertaken by the state government. He assured me of full cooperation from the Government of India in this hour of crisis,” the Chief Minister had said.