A 70-year-old man and his son spent two days on a mango tree before being rescued by Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) in cyclone and flood-hit Ganjam district.
Basaba Bharadwaj and his son had climbed the tree while being swept away by the high flood waters at Kanjiama village, 35 km from here, on Wednesday when they were searching for his missing wife, Janaki (65).
"We could not locate her. We climbed on the tree to save our lives," said Basaba, a resident of Sarangagada in Kandhamal district who were working in a brick-kiln in Ganjam.
They were rescued on Friday by ODRAF and Janaki who was swept away by the flood waters is still missing.
ODRAF sources said the father-son duo were spotted by its personnel when they were returning to Kanjima after distributing relief.
They were admitted to a hospital at Hinjili where their condition was stated to be normal.
"The old man was very shocked after missing of his wife. He was suffering from cold, but in good condition" said a doctor attending them.
In a similar incident, National Disaster Rapid Action Force (NDRAF) rescued three persons - two firemen and one home guard who were stranded for about 18 hours at Gothagaon by the flood waters and had taken refuge in a tree, NDRAF sources said.
They along with some others had gone to the place to rescue six marooned people on Thursday. After evacuating the six to safety they found themselves surrounded by high flood waters and climbed the tree to avoid being swept away.
The ODRAF team tried twice to reach at them but in vain. They were rescued on Thursday by NDRAF team, said Ganjam district collector Krishan Kumar.
They were also rushed to the hospital.
Reports of rescue of stranded people were received from other places in the district, including Inganathi near Bhanjanagara, Kabisuryanagara, Aska and Buguda.
