Nine shepherds, along with 2,000 sheep, who were trapped on an island in the Hundri River near Gorantla village, were rescued on Thursday afternoon.
The fire services personnel responded to a distress call from the shepherds who had been trapped on the island due to flash flood since Wednesday evening.
District Fire Officer Sreenivasa Reddy said the fire services personnel reached the victims in inflatable boats and rescued them. They were given food packets, drinking water, medicines, cellphone chargers and etc. However, the shepherds refused to come to the shore and told that they would take care of the sheep on the island.
The department personnel, however, brought one of them to the shore as he was suffering from fever. The water released from the Gajuladinne project inundates several areas if the people downstream are not informed in advance, said Mr. Sreenivasa Reddy. He asked the officials to release water only after all precautions are taken downstream.