At about 1000 hrs on 02 Aug 2016, Indian Coast Guard Air Station Daman received telephonic information from Valsad Administration (Gujarat) regarding 10 personnel trapped on rooftop near Valsad due to high rise of water level in Auranga River. The location was about 25 kms from Coast Guard Air Station, Daman and about 175 kms north of Mumbai.
On receipt of the information, the air station acted swiftly and a Coast Guard Chetak helicopter was launched expeditiously within 15 minutes. Braving the strong wind conditions and inclement weather, the pilots manoeuvred the helicopter safely, reached the site and identified the stranded personnel. The helicopter crew quickly assessed the situation and also identified a safe location for shifting the stranded personnel. A total of 28 persons were winched up safely with assistance of the Coast Guard Divers and shifted to safe location.
The operation to rescue more number of people from rooftop is still in progress due to continued flooding in the area.