As Cyclone Vayu hits, Pune-based NDRF team rescues pregnant woman off Gujarat coast

Cyclone Vayu had been due to make landfall between Porbandar and Veraval Thursday morning. (Express photo by Javed Raja)

A team from Pune-based 5th Battalion of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), deputed in Gujarat for evacuation, rescue and relief operations ahead of Cyclone Vayu, on Thursday morning rescued a pregnant woman from an island off the coast of Amreli district. The woman later delivered a boy at a hospital in the coastal town of Jafarabad, officials said.

A team of NDRF personnel rescued a pregnant woman, Hansaben, from Shiyalbet island, located off the coast of Amreli district. “The woman, who was in need of a pre-term delivery, was rescued by 5th Battalion team of NDRF deployed at the island. The woman was later taken to a hospital in coastal town of Jafarabad by a boat. We have confirmed that the woman later delivered a baby boy and both are doing fine,” an officer said, adding that such incidents do lift the spirit of the rescue teams.

Cyclone Vayu had been due to make landfall between Porbandar and Veraval Thursday morning. However, it changed course overnight to head further into the sea. Although the brunt of the cyclone will not hit Gujarat, heavy rains and strong winds have lashed sections of the state’s coast.