10-month-old, kin rescued from flood waters in Pune

A 10-month-old child and his other family members, who were stranded in a flooded area following heavy rains in Maharashtra's Pune district, were rescued by the fire brigade, an official said on Thursday. A video purportedly showing the infant being rescued using a life ring (plastic tube) through gushing water went viral on social media.

Five members of a family, including the child, were stuck outside their house in Parvati area near Mitra Mandal chowk on Wednesday after heavy rains pounded the city, fire officer Maruti Devkule said. "We received a call that a family of five was stranded. On reaching there, we found that the family members were sitting on a water tank outside their house and there was a toddler among them," he said.

Devkule said he waded through the gushing water and rescued the child first. "After putting the baby in a basket, I kept it on a life ring and swam along with it towards safety," he said.

Later, the child's parents and grand-parents were also rescued, he added. Pune witnessed intense heavy rainfall on Wednesday, which caused flooding in several low-lying areas and claimed lives of 12 people, officials said..