As they watched the water level rise inside homes, their hopes began to dip. But that was only until a helicopter was seen from a distance.
Two Cheetah helicopters from the Indian Air Force station in Tambaram airlifted residents, including five newborns and their mothers, from Rayappa Nagar in Varadharajapuram near Tambaram on Monday.
Residents were overjoyed and burst into cheers at the sight of the helicopters. As many as 22 people were winched up by the Cheetahs one at a time and brought to safer places, according to the Ministry of Defence. During the day, 100 litres of water and 150 food packets prepared by the IAF were also air dropped.
Two Mi-17 V5 helicopters and Advanced Light Helicopters were also on standby for the rescue operations, sources added.
College students were rescued in boats by firemen. The Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) rescued more than three hundred students from their hostels in Satyabama University, Rajiv Gandhi Salai (Old Mamallapuram Road).
S. Velusamy, Station Fire Officer, Siruseri Sipcot, and his team rescued engineering, dental and medical students.
The team also rescued three patients who had undergone surgeries and around 50-60 doctors and staff. The team also rescued fifty students from the hostel of FOMRA Institute of Technology in Kelambakkam and also rescued residents of some apartments on OMR. The Coastal Security Group, headed by its Additional Director General of Police Sylendra Babu, used boats to rescue families stranded in CTO colony in Tambaram.
