Marooned man airlifted by chopper

Island in MP submerged with water from Machgaon dam

A man perched atop a tree for nearly 24 hours on a marooned island in a Madhya Pradesh district was on Saturday rescued by a helicopter.

Madhu Kahar (31), resident of Belkhada village in Chhindwara district, had gone fishing along with his friends to the nearby island formed by the Pench river on Friday morning.

The island was completely submerged when water from Machgaon dam was released, leaving him and his friends stranded there.

While his friends swam to safety, he climbed a tree in the marooned island to prevent him from being washed away by the flood water.

“A team of the national disaster response force (NDRF) rushed to the area after receiving reports on the plight of the man. The NDRF team, however, could not approach him due to strong current of the water in the area. Later, he was airlifted by a chopper,” the state revenue control room here said, quoting reports from the Chhindwara district collector’s office.

The man was taken to a local government hospital for a medical checkup.

Chhindwara has recorded eight inches of rain in the last 24 hours, leaving many villages and the district headquarters town of Chhindwara marooned.

At least 50 villages in Chhindwara district have been cut off from the rest of the world due to flash floods in Pench river caused by torrential rains experienced by the district in the last 24 hours.

WHILE HIS friends swam to safety, he climbed a tree in the marooned island to prevent him from being washed away by the flood water.

THE MAN was taken to a local government hospital for a medical checkup. ● CHHINDWARA HAS recorded eight inches of rain in the last 24 hours.