Malayalam actor, film crew rescued from flooded Himachal village

A 30-member film crew from Kerala, including award-winning actor Manju Warrier, has been rescued after they were stranded in a remote Himachal Pradesh village following heavy rains and floods for the past few days.

The plight of the crew came to light after the 'How Old Are You' actress contacted her family in Kerala through a satellite phone on Monday night to inform that they had been stranded in Chatru village in Balh area of Mandi district following multiple landslides due to recent heavy rains.

The crew has been camping for two weeks at Chatru, a scenic hamlet in the Himalayan valley and located over 80 km away from Manali for the shooting of Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's upcoming movie, Manju Warrier's actor-brother Madhu Warrier told television channels.

According to him, her sister said there was food for only two days in their reserve and there was no communication facility. Her family sought the help of the authorities on Tuesday for their safe evacuation.

Besides the cinema crew and Sasidharan, nearly 200 people were stranded at the place due to inclement weather and there was a lack of transport and communication facilities, he said.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said the actress and the crew had been rescued on Tuesday.

The actor's brother said the family had contacted Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, following which the latter telephoned Thakur.

Meanwhile, the chief minister said about 1,600 stranded people had been rescued so far, adding that those who were still stuck would will soon be rescued.