Malayalam actress, crew rescued from Himachal floods

A 30-member film crew from Kerala, including award-winning actress Manju Warrier, have been rescued from a remote village in Himachal Pradesh, which has been witnessing heavy rains and floods for the past few days.

Himachal CM, Jairam Thakur told ANI that the entire crew had been rescued and were being brought to Manali.

The plight of the crew came to light after the 'How Old Are You' actress contacted her family in Kerala through a satellite phone on August 19.

As the actress said there was food for only two days in reserve and there was no communication facility, her family sought the help of the authorities on Tuesday for their safe evacuation.

The crew has been camping for two weeks at Chatra, a scenic hamlet in the Himalayan valley and located over 80 km away from Manali, for the shooting of Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's upcoming movie, Manju Warrier's actor-brother Madhu Warrier told television channels.

Besides the cinema crew and Sasidharan, nearly 200 people were stranded at the place due to inclement weather and there was a lack of transport and communication facilities, he said. "She made the call on a satellite phone. She said there is food for only two days in their reserve and she could speak only for some time."

Madhu Warrier appealed to the authorities to take urgent steps for the safe evacuation of those stranded and ensure that they were provided food.

He said the family had contacted Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan for the intervention of the Centre and the Himachal Pradesh government in this regard.