Firemen rescue baby, family from submerged Odisha village

A 24-year-old woman, Manasi Guru, her infant daughter, husband KN Das were stranded on the terrace of their house after Brahmani river breached embankment on Thursday night.
A rescue team member c arrying the infant in a pail (Photo | EPS)
A rescue team member c arrying the infant in a pail (Photo | EPS)

BHUBANESWAR: Caught atop the terrace of a single-story house amidst incessant rains all night, with a frothing Brahmani river swirling around the building, could be unnerving for anyone.

Picture a family stranded there with their three-month-old baby! Thanks to the Odisha Fire Service, the morning of Friday brought an end to the nightmare of one such family in Sankarakul village of Jajpur district’s Bari block after incessant rains triggered flash floods in the area.

A 24-year-old woman, Manasi Guru, her infant daughter, husband KN Das were stranded on the terrace of their house after Brahmani river breached embankment on Thursday night.

Along with them were Manasi’s parents-in-law Srikant and Minati and another relative Dhruba Charan.

When Bari Tehsildar informed fire personnel about the stranded family at about 6.35 am, a seven-men team proceeded on a rescue boat and reached the spot within 25 minutes.

“Three sides of the house were surrounded in deep water and on reaching the spot, we found out that the family was in great distress,” said Bari fire station’s leading fireman, Jagannath Hembram.

As the water current was strong, the fire personnel threw a rope to the stranded persons on the terrace and they tied it with the building.

The rescue team members reached the house with the help of the rope. They were unable to find anything in the building, following which they carried the infant in a pail.

“Water level on one side of the house was up to the chest. One of the personnel walked ahead till the powerboat while we followed him with the rescued persons who were provided life-buoys for their safety,” said Hembram. The operation lasted for about 2 hours and 40 minutes.

The rescue act invited praise from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who commended the efforts of Bari fire station personnel. “Commend Odisha Fire Service personnel of Bari fire station, Jajpur, for their swift response to rescue marooned families including an infant.

The successful operation saved six people stranded in flood water at Sankarakul in Bari block,” said the Chief Minister’s office in a tweet.That was not the only major rescue of the day as Chandikhol fire station personnel rescued a pregnant woman from Badchana block.

At least 180 persons were rescued from five villages in Badchana in two fire service power boats. Similarly, teams from Binjharpur fire station, Dasarathapur, Jajpur and Rasulpur rescued 134 persons from several villages in the district.

DG Fire Services, Satyajit Mohanty reviewed the situation and probability of flood in Mahanadi river. The State fire control room is operational 24X7 to monitor the relief and rescue operations in all the flood affected areas.

Seven rescue teams each with power boats have been deployed in Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore districts while nine teams are mobilized in Kendrapara.

Five teams each from southern range and northern range are on stand-by and under the control of Collectors of Puri and Jagatsinghpur to undertake rescue and relief operations in the areas likely to be affected by Mahanadi.

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