Kerala floods: Heavily pregnant woman airlifted as massive rescue underway

A pregnant lady, who was airlifted on Friday morning by a Navy rescue team from a water logged place near Aluva in Kerala, gave birth to a baby safely. Visuals of Sajitha Jabeel being airlifted was shown on TV channels and soon after she was taken into the helicopter, the rescue reached the Kochi Naval base hospital where she was admitted. The hospital authorities said that she delivered a baby boy and both are doing fine.

Aluva continues to be one of the worst affected towns on account of the flooding that has claimed at least 164 lives in Kerala.

Sajitha was airlifted by a Indian navy helicopter from Kochi.

A heavily pregnant woman airlifted from near Kochi airport. Mission involved 30 minutes of rock-steady hover by this @IndianNavy Chetak crew. pic.twitter.com/3DjEt8TaGt

— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) August 17, 2018

Shiv Aroor, of India Today group reported on Twitter that the woman delivered a healthy baby boy.

Here they are! Mother & baby doing fine 🙂 Family sends thanks to the @IndianNavy crew. pic.twitter.com/QXsR6A7fK2

— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) August 17, 2018

“The worst affected districts include Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur, where 52,856 families have been affected,” Vijayan said after a review meeting. He said 11 more helicopters will join the present fleet of 14 that have already been carrying out rescue and relief operations. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sanctioned the extra chopperrs, as people marooned in Chengannur and Chalakudy can only be rescued by air. As of Friday, 16 Army, 28 Coast Guard, 39 NDRF and 42 Navy teams were engaged in the rescue operations, while another 14 more National Disaster Response Force teams would reach Kerala during the day, said Vijayan.

The authorities in the worst affected districts have taken over big lorries that can best navigate through the flooded roads to reach people marooned in small pockets. More boats will also be taken from people to aid in the operations, Isaac said. The Met has forecast less rains in the next 24 hours till Saturday, which should bring some relief. Rescue operations are progressing well in Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad. The latter two districts have put up over 20,000 camps. Major national and state highways, as well as the rail traffic, continued to be disrupted in various parts of the state. Railway operations between Ernakulam and Thrissur are suspended; the Alappuzha sector is open to Thiruvananthapuram but the Kottayam sector is closed. Some long distance trains were being diverted via the Nagercoil sector. Kerala is facing the heaviest rains and floods witnessed in the state since 1924 which by now have caused massive destruction with damages to crops and properties estimated to be thousands of crores.

Also Read: Kerala Rains Update: Death toll due to floods has risen to 167, confirms Pinarayi Vijayan