Air Force rescues 13 fishermen stranded on island as floods in India’s northeast kill 16 people

Over 1.1 million people across 21 districts of Assam state affected by floods

The Indian Air Force on Tuesday rescued 13 stranded fishermen from a riverine island as floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains continued to batter India's northeast.

At least 16 people have been killed over two weeks and more than 300,000 have been displaced from their submerged homes due to the torrential rains in the two northeastern states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

A military helicopter brought the fishermen to safety four days after being stranded on a small island on the flooded Brahmaputra – one of Asia's largest rivers.

"A Mi-17 IV helicopter from AFS Mohanbari flew in challenging weather conditions and undertook rescue ops from a marshy piece of land," the Indian Air Force said on X.

#IAF rescued 13 marooned survivors from a small island in the flooded Brahmaputra, north of Dibrugarh in Assam.

On 02 Jul 24, after a sunrise takeoff, a Mi-17 IV helicopter from AFS Mohanbari flew in challenging weather conditions and undertook rescue ops from a marshy piece of… pic.twitter.com/hhr2PJheg8

— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) July 2, 2024

The fishermen were rescued from a sandbar area in the Dibrugarh district, the Assam state disaster management authority said.

The Brahmaputra River, which flows 1,280km across Assam state before running through Bangladesh, was among the 13 major rivers flowing above the danger level.

A man carries his daughter on back as he wades through a flooded street in Guwahati on June 20 (AFP via Getty Images)

This year the incessant rainfall has made the river Brahmaputra, already known for its powerful, unpredictable flow, even more dangerous to live near or on one of the more than 2,000 island villages in the middle of it.

On Sunday, the air force rescued eight state disaster response force personnel and a revenue official after they got stuck during a relief operation.

The flood situation in Assam worsened over the weekend, affecting more than 1.1 million people across 21 districts. The state is bracing for a deterioration in the situation as the Indian Meteorological Department forecasts moderate to heavy rain over the next four days.

At least 8,142 people have been moved to 72 relief shelters across the state, the state authorities said.

An one-horned rhinoceros wades through flood water at the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Morigaon district of India's Assam state (AFP via Getty Images)

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said: “The next 3-4 days will be very critical for the state.” The national disaster response force (NDRF) and the army will be on standby to deal with any emergency, he said on Monday.

The animals at the famed Kaziranga National Park, home to some 2,500 one-horned rhinos, were moving to higher ground to escape the floods. Park rangers are monitoring their movements to ensure their safety, Mr Biswa Sarma added.

In neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh which borders China, landslides have wiped out several roads. Army troopers there rescued 70 students and teachers from a flooded school in Changlang district, police said.

A flood affected person loads sacks of rice on a vehicle to transport to a safer place from his submerged house in Sildubi village in Morigaon, Assam (AP)

Schools have been shut in the Itanagar district till 6 July, authorities said. The Assam Rifles were pressed into action to rescue around 500 stranded people from the flooded villages.

Similarly, heavy flooding in the states of Sikkim, Manipur and Meghalaya swept away roads and collapsed bridges.

So far, more than 80 people across six northeastern states have died since the end of May due to floods and mudslides brought on by the rains, according to official figures.

Disasters caused by landslides and floods are common in the country's northeast region during the June-September monsoon season.

India, and Assam state in particular, is seen as one of the world's most vulnerable regions to climate change because of more intense rain and floods, according to a 2021 report by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a New Delhi-based climate think tank.