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Telangana boat capsize: about 10 SDRF and fire rescuers missing in Khammam

Two rescue boats overturned in a flooded lake in Khammam while trying to reach stranded fishermen. What happened, who is missing and the search so far.

By Saad BilalEdited by Waqar Ul Khaf, Chief Editor
2 min read
Rescue workers in life jackets during the night operation in Khammam
Image: ETV Bharat

About ten rescue workers were missing in India’s Telangana state on Wednesday night, 4 November, after the two boats carrying them overturned in a swollen lake in Khammam district. They had gone out to save a group of fishermen stranded by floodwater.

Officials have not given a final count. Early figures from the state put the number at about ten: six members of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) unit based in Kothagudem and four fire department staff. Three other fire personnel who were caught in the water were rescued.

What happened at Bethupalli lake

Heavy rain linked to cyclone Murasu, which hit neighbouring Andhra Pradesh earlier this week, made Bethupalli lake in Sathupalli mandal overflow. Five fishermen who had gone there to set nets were cut off by the rising water.

The SDRF and fire teams went out in two boats to bring them back. According to officials, the boats capsized in the strong current as the rescuers were on their way back towards the stranded men. It was not clear by late Wednesday whether the fishermen themselves had been reached.

  • On the ground: Khammam District Collector Divakara T S and local MLA Ragamayi went to the lake to run the operation. More SDRF personnel were brought in from Bhadrachalam, and teams searched with another boat.
  • The state: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy ordered all possible efforts and asked Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju to monitor the situation. Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy said on X that teams had identified where the missing personnel might be. Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao told officials to stay at the site until the operation ends and spoke to the stranded fishermen by phone.
  • The centre: Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had been deployed and that he was “closely monitoring the situation.”

Why it matters

Cyclone Murasu made landfall near Ongole in Andhra Pradesh earlier this week, and its rain has spread inland into Telangana. Rescue crews are often sent into fast floodwater at night with little margin for error; the people who go out to save others end up among the missing.

For Pakistanis, it is a familiar scene from our own monsoon floods, when Rescue 1122 and army boats work in exactly these conditions. The next update to watch is whether the missing rescuers and the five fishermen are found alive.

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