Nashik (Maharashtra), Aug 5 (IANS): An Army helicopter was deployed to rescue at least 12 people trapped on a barren rocky islet in the Girni River near Malegaon in Maharashtra, officials said here on Monday.

The persons, who said they had come from neighbouring Dhule, had gone fishing in the shallow waters of the Girni River on Sunday afternoon.

As they were engrossed in fishing there, the water levels suddenly shot up and they were marooned on the rocky islet with the raging flood water gushing all around them.

They raised an alarm and the locals of Samvad villages near the river bank summoned the police, fire brigade and the SDRF teams to help the stranded youngsters on Sunday evening.

They even deployed rubber boats and ropes but could not combat the force of the river waters and called off the operation after darkness.

When they resumed the rescue operation this morning, the incessant water flow again hampered the teams and finally, they summoned an Army helicopter.

The chopper arrived around noon and launched the aerial rescue, making multiple sorties to save the stranded youth to the safety of the river bank, as the rain took a short breather.

A local police official said that the youth spent the night on the rocks on the islet in fear as the region continued to be lashed by heavy rain, they were wet, hungry, shivering and extremely fatigued after the rescue, and would be sent for medical treatment as required.

Nashik has been pounded by heavy rain in the past 72 hours with all the major reservoirs overflowing and the excess water being discharged into the rivers, resulting in the abrupt rise in water levels and risks to the local villages.

After they reached the shore, the local authorities offered them food and water and started making arrangements to send them back home.

Nashik Guardian Minister Dada Dagadu Bhuse and local AIMIM MLA Maulana M.I.A. Khalique closely monitored the situation till the rescue mission was completed.