Around 35 people, including senior citizens and children, were trapped inside a bus in Valsad district on Wednesday as floodwaters from a swelling river surrounded the vehicle, with officials saying a helicopter rescue may be the only option to reach those on board.
The bus, travelling from Surat towards Maharashtra, got stranded in the Ambeti area as water levels rose rapidly.
Visuals shared from the flood area show a large group of residents, including women in sarees and young children, huddled together and looking out anxiously as murky floodwater surrounds the bus on all sides, with a tree line visible in the distance across the swollen river.
Other visuals from Valsad show the scale of the flooding across residential and commercial areas.
In one clip, a multi-storey residential building stands in a street that has turned into a wide, brown river, with several cars and two-wheelers submerged up to their windows and wing mirrors along the roadside.
In another, a man is seen floating in chest-deep water using an orange life ring, as he moves past shuttered shopfronts.
A separate aerial-angle visual shows a residential lane, framed by palm trees and a building with rooftop solar panels, completely inundated with fast-flowing water stretching well beyond the road's original width.
The flooding follows continuous heavy rainfall across Surat, Valsad and Navsari districts, which has severely disrupted daily life.
ALSO READ: Surat Flood Tragedy: As Waters Recede, Stories Of Missing Victims Emerge
Several stretches of National Highway 48 have gone underwater, including near Motiwada in Pardi and Udwada, forcing authorities to shut one carriageway and triggering long queues of stranded vehicles.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel held a high-level meeting on the situation and has directed Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, Tribal Development Minister Naresh Patel, and senior officials Remya Mohan and Alok Pandey to assist local administrations in the affected districts.
In-charge secretaries have also been instructed to reach districts placed under a red alert by the Meteorological Department.
The administration is monitoring the situation and has appealed to residents to avoid unnecessary travel until conditions improve.
ALSO READ: Mumbai Rains: Water Level In Seven Mumbai Lakes Nears 70%; IMD Issues Orange Alert
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