Arunachal: Eight rescued, three await evacuation after raft overturns in Dambuk during rescue operations

Rescue operations continued in Arunachal Pradesh’s Lower Dibang Valley district on Monday, June 29 morning after a rescue raft carrying stranded persons and rescuers overturned in the swollen Sisiri River at Dambuk amid strong river currents.

According to official information available as of 5:30 am on June 29, a team of seven rafters had ventured into the Sisiri River on June 28 to rescue four persons who had earlier become stranded in the river.

During the operation, the rescue team successfully located three of the stranded individuals. However, while all ten persons — comprising seven rescuers and three rescued individuals — were approaching the riverbank, their raft overturned after being struck by a strong current.

Following the incident, five persons managed to swim to safety, while the remaining five were swept downstream by the river.

Of those carried away by the current, two persons reached an island and became stranded there, while another individual became trapped on a log in the middle of the river. The stranded person on the log was subsequently rescued by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). Two additional individuals were rescued later in the night on June 28.

As of the latest update, eight out of the total 11 persons involved in the incident — including the original four stranded individuals and seven rescuers — have been rescued. Authorities confirmed that three persons remain stranded on river islands. Of these, two are located together on one island, while another person, who was initially reported missing, has now been traced on a separate island.

Rescue operations resumed at 4:45 am on June 29 with teams working to evacuate the remaining stranded persons.

A total of 30 NDRF personnel have been deployed at the site along with teams from the state police and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

Authorities also stated that an Indian Air Force helicopter has been kept on standby at Mohanbari for aerial support, but adverse weather conditions and heavy rainfall have so far prevented take-off.

The information was shared by the Secretary, Civil Aviation, and the Deputy Commissioner, Roing, and circulated by the Department of Disaster Management, Government of Arunachal Pradesh.