Efforts on to rescue 800 stranded passengers as Tamil Nadu battles with floods; Army pitches in

Madurai, December 19

Work to rescue about 800 passengers stranded at Srivaikuntam in southern Tamil Nadu is 'going on' and the exercise will be completed as soon as possible, an official said on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, the Army assisted evacuation of people from flood-hit areas and provided them medical care.

Though rain activity has almost come to a halt in most parts of southern Tamil Nadu, the inundation is still heavy, which continues to affect normalcy.

A railway official here said the NDRF, Air Force, railway and local authorities are coordinating the rescue work. The passengers, stranded since early hours of Monday, spent the night in train coaches at Srivaikuntam railway station. Initially, 300 people were housed in a nearby school and the others stayed at Srivaikuntam railway station.

On Monday night, troops assisted rescue of over 100 people, which includes 54 women, a pregnant woman and 19 children near Thoothukudi. Medical care and life support was provided to them, the Defence PRO Chennai said in a post on X.

From Delhi, Chief Minister MK Stalin held a virutal meet on Monday night with ministers and district collectors of Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Kanyakumari and Tenkasi and asked them to continue rescue efforts in full swing as people were still stranded in several areas of Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli districts.

Additional pumps to drain water have been dispatched by authorities to southern districts from Chennai and about 200 boats deployed as part of rescue efforts.