Soldiers in lifeboats ferried people to safety in India's northeastern state of Tripura on Friday after heavy rain triggered floods and landslides, forcing more than 65,000 people from their homes and killing 23, authorities said, Reuters reports.
Television images showed army personnel manning the rescue craft, while cars and buses were marooned in streets of knee-deep water, and disaster management officials said four days of incessant rain had swelled rivers.
"However, the river Gomti still continues to flow above the danger mark," Deb said, referring to the state's main river, which flows through the district of Comilla in neighbouring Bangladesh to empty into the Bay of Bengal.
The displaced have gathered in 450 camps, the officials said, with a total of about 1.7 million affected, along with extensive damage to infrastructure, crops and livestock.
The Indian Army said more than 80 of its personnel joined in rescue efforts, bringing to safety 334 people stranded by rising floodwaters.
