Indian Navy chopper rescues 4 marooned fishermen in Orissa

Four marooned fishermen were today rescued by an Indian Navy chopper in Orissa's Malkangiri district while a 60-year-old man died and another went missing in flash flood that hit about 40,000 people in the state.

"The four persons of Udaygiri village of Malkangiri who were trapped in flood water, were rescued by an Indian Navy chopper early this morning," Orissa's revenue and disaster management minister SN Patro told the state assembly.

Making a statement on the flood situation, the minister said the state government had sought help of the defence ministry to rescue the four fishermen as they could not be reached due to high current in river Kolab. The four were airlifted to Malkangiri district headquarters, he said.

Gundicha Bhadra, 60, died in flood in Bhaskel river, while Jhintu Mali of Bapatiguda village in Nabaragpur district remained missing, Patro said.

The minister claimed that members of Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) had successfully rescued 250 school children who were trapped in flood water in Nabaragpur district.

Flash flood triggered by heavy downpour hit districts of Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Koraput, Gajapati, and Balangir, he said adding adequate relief materials were distributed among the affected families.

Patro along with two other ministers were scheduled to visit the flood-hit areas tomorrow.

The minister said water level in most of the major rivers had started receding and were below the danger mark.