Guj rains: 2 IAF choppers rescue 13 people in Surat

Two Indian Air Force helicopters on Monday rescued thirteen villagers stranded due to heavy rains in Mangarol taluka of Surat district, officials said.

The villagers were stuck in Lahura and Kosadi villages, following which the Gujarat government sent out an SOS to the IAF, they said.

"Thirteen marooned villagers at Lahura and Kosadi of Mangarol taluka in Surat district were rescued by two IAF helicopters which took off from Vadodara and Surat," a defence official said.

Mangarol, Umerpada and Mandvi talukas of Surat have got heavy rains in the 24-hour period ending 8am on Monday, officials said.

While Mangarol got 451 millimetres rainfall, Umerpada received 587 mm, they said.

Several low-lying villages have been flooded and National Disaster Response Force and Air Force teams are in the region, mainly south Gujarat districts of Surat, Valsad, Narmada and Bharuch, for rescue and relief operations.

On Sunday, two IAF choppers had rescued 45 people stranded in a prawns farm in a village in Valsad.