Kendrapara, August 19: More than 240 students stranded at an Ashram school in Odisha’s Kendrapara district for four days due to severe flooding were rescued by the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) on Wednesday.

The students had been trapped at the school in Kulashahi since Saturday after floodwaters from the Brahmani River inundated the area.

Kendrapara District Collector said the students were rescued using three powerboats and shifted safely to two residential schools in the neighbouring Aul block.

A total of 284 students of the residential school, which houses SC/ST students, were initially stranded after floodwaters rapidly rose and submerged the first floor of the school building. The students were shifted to the second floor, where they remained safe.

The school authorities had stocked sufficient food supplies for about a week. However, the students faced several difficulties during their four-day ordeal, including shortages of drinking water and problems using toilets and maintaining hygiene.

District officials said they had initially decided against evacuating the children as they believed the students were safe inside the school building. However, as flood conditions continued, a rescue operation was eventually carried out to shift the stranded students to safer locations.