Malayalam superstar Manju Warrier and her film crew were among those stranded in Himachal Pradesh due to heavy flood rescued after many hours.
Three days of heavy rain led to snapping of several key road links. They have been rescued and are being moved to safety, the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister said.
Around 30 to 40 people, including Manju Warrier, filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan and the crew of a film they were shooting for were stuck in the hill state’s Chattru. Around 200 people were stuck in the flood-affected area.
“They were taken out of the area a short while ago and sent in vehicles safely. They were warned earlier. But perhaps they didn’t pay attention to the request and insisted (on staying back),” Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur told reporters.
The actress managed to call her brother on Monday night at around 9 pm through a satellite phone as telephone lines were not working.
She said they were running out of food and other essentials which were likely to last just another day, according to the brother Madhu Warrier.
The brother then reached out to junior foreign minister V Muraleedharan who is from Kerala. “The minister has assured me of all help and said he is in touch with the Himachal Chief Minister,” Madhu Warrier said.
“Spoke to Shri @jairamthakurbjp ji, Hon’ble CM of Himachal Pradesh on the Malayalam film crew stuck in Chatru. Mandi district administration is in touch with the stranded crew members. Evacuation efforts are on to bring them back to Manali by today evening,” Mr Muraleedharan tweeted.
