Karnataka shepherd, marooned five days on river island, rescued

Yadgir (Karnataka), Aug 10 (IANS) A 20-year-old shepherd, marooned on a small island in the Krishna river in Karnataka’s Yadgir district, has been rescued by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), its chief said on Sunday.

The NDRF team managed to rescue Toppanna, 20, despite the strong and risky currents in the river, following extensive rains and floods, Director General Satya Pradhan said.

Toppanna reportedly spent five days alone on the Edadamali island near Chayabhagavti temple in Hunasagi taluk of Yadgir, over 500 km north of Bengaluru.

Some of a 16-member NDRF team set off on a boat on the river in the spate to rescue Topanna.

A happy and relieved Toppanna later spoke to the media and posed for photographs holding a lamb in his hands.

–IANS

sth/vd