Thiruvananthapuram, August 19: Heavy and incessant rains have lashed Kerala. A total of 370 people have lost their lives due to floods. The Indian armed forces have launched Operation Madad to rescue people stranded in flood-hit areas. The Indian Naval Ship Deepak today disembarked rations and drinking water at Southern Navy Command.

According to the defence ministry, 10 rescue teams of the navy is involved in the operation to pull out people to safe locations. Apart from this, the navy is also using 10 motorised boats, one advanced light helicopter and one seaking helicopter in the rescue operation. Five medical teams of the Indian Army are also working tirelessly to rescue people from the flood-hit regions of the state.

According to the ministry, two columns of the army having 50-60 personnel each are carrying out rescue operations in the state. The army is also using two advanced light helicopters and two Chetak helicopters in the operation. Two Mi-17 helicopters and one advanced helicopter of the Indian Air Force are too winching people to safety from the flooded areas. The Indian Coast Guard is using six motorised, four non-motorised and 21 hired boats in the rescue operation.

Indian Armed Forces carrying out rescue operations in Kerala:

The Indian Coast Guard Ship Vijit has sailed from Mumbai to Kochi this morning with 40 tonnes of relief material. Meanwhile, authorities have withdrawn the red alert which was issued in Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday predicted moderate rains in a few districts of the state.

Today, Home Minister of Telangana Naini Narshimha Reddy handed over a cheque of Rs 25 Crore to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. In addition to this 50 RO machines worth Rs 2.5 Crore will also be airlifted from Begumpet to Kerala to provide clean drinking water. Financial support has also poured in from various other states of the country.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2018 03:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).