A sudden increase in Tawi river’s flow due to heavy rains led to the men getting stranded in the river. (AP) A sudden increase in Tawi river’s flow due to heavy rains led to the men getting stranded in the river. (AP)

In a dramatic operation spanning nearly four hours, four persons trapped near the overflowing Tawi river in Jammu were rescued by a team of the Indian Air Force and State Disaster Relief Force on Monday.

It was yet to be ascertained how the people got trapped in river Tawi. A sudden increase in the river’s flow due to heavy rains led to the men getting stranded in the river.

#UPDATE Jammu & Kashmir: Two more persons have been rescued after they got stuck near a bridge in JAMMU following a sudden increase in the water level of Tawi river. pic.twitter.com/JI6oWRtR5B — ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2019

Sources said police received information about four people being marooned around 10.15 am. In 15 minutes, an SDRF team reached the spot but the continuous rise in the water level of the river made it impossible to rescue all the four with the help of boat or ropes.

Finally, the IAF was requisitioned by the administration and two Mi-17 choppers were pressed into service around noon. The first chopper tried to lift two people with the help of a rope but it broke midway and the duo fell in the river. However, they swam to the river bank where they were rescued by the SDRF personnel.

After some time, another IAF chopper came. This time, one IAF personnel was lowered from the chopper to a pier of an under-construction barrage where two other people were marooned. The IAF personnel tied them with the rope and were finally lifted.

After dropping them at a safe location, the chopper again came to pick up its personnel. The rescue operation was over by 1.45 pm, sources said.

“We received information that some people needed to be rescued. By 12:29 pm helicopter was here. Our Garud Commandos went down and put a hook on fishermen. Four people were rescued in a short span of time. The operation was successful,” Sandeep Singh, IAF Chief Operations Officer, Jammu told ANI.

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