Army sends more help to Tamil Nadu, 65 rescued

More soldiers reached Tamil Nadu on Wednesday to join relief and rescue efforts in the flood-ravaged regions, and officials said they had rescued 65 stranded people so far.

Fifteen of them were taken out of a bus that was stranded in a flooded area in Chennai, an official statement said. Fifty others were rescued in Gudvancheri and Mudichur in Chennai.

The army was deployed in Chennai, where large areas have gone under water following torrential rains, on Tuesday night.

Two flood rescue and relief columns comprising troops from the Garrison Infantry Battalion and Engineer units are active in Tambaram, Mudichur, Manipakam, Guduvancheri and Urapakkam areas of Chennai.

A third army team joined the operations on Wednesday, and a fourth column was on its way to Chennai from Bengaluru by road, the statement said.

"Additional army resources are being mobilized for providing assistance to flood affected areas," it added.