Braving inclement weather and risky conditions, a young Air Force officer dramatically winched a toddler to safety from a marooned house in Kerala.
Wing Commander Prashanth slid down a rope to the terrace of the two-storey house which seemed from above like a toy floating on murky, red-brown water.
Television visuals showed the officer airlifting the two-year-old boy with care, pressing him to his body and winching him to safety, before handing him over to his anxious mother waiting inside the chopper.
Tears of joy
The woman, in tears with anxiety a few minutes ago, broke into smiles of gratitude as she received the child.
Commander Prashanth is among the many unsung heroes who have brought smiles to the faces of panic-stricken flood victims.
In another instance, television cameras showed girls, trapped in their hostel room for days without food and water, being rescued by another IAF helicopter. After the agony of being stranded, they cried and hugged each other as the last one was pulled up to safety in the helicopter on Saturday.
Commander Vijay Varma, who saved a woman in early stages of labour earlier this week by winching her to a helicopter from a stranded building, was happy to hear that she had successfully delivered a boy.
Social media messages have been full of praise for the exceptional courage of Indian Navy Captain P. Rajkumar, who airlifted over 25 persons in challenging conditions.
Kneeling to help
The dramatic picture of a man kneeling down in muddy waters to help women step on to him to get into rescue boats went viral on Sunday. Fishermen Jaisal K.P. in a blue shirt was seen kneeling, with his face hardly a few inches above the flood waters as women stepped onto his back to climb into a boat.
The act of IAS officers M.G. Rajamanikyam and N.S. Umesh who unloaded rice sacks at the Wayanad Collectorate for distribution at relief camps was also celebrated by netizens.
As news of the devastating floods and stranded people came in around 600 fishermen immediately volunteered with their country and mechanised boats for rescue operations.
Away from the television camera, several women, college students and even children have been working at collections centres to gather, sort and package essential materials, including food, medicines and clothes for people in relief camps.
