Amaravati, Oct 30 : A major disaster was averted at the Sangam Barrage across Penna River in Andhra Pradesh's Nellore district on Thursday as a 35-tonne boat, stuck in the barrage, was pulled out by the NDRF teams.

It was one of three boats used for sand collection, which were swept away by strong currents following heavy rain due to Cyclone Montha on Wednesday.

While two boats were brought to the shore on Wednesday by the teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the third one remained stuck, and there was a danger of it ramming into the anicut.

NDRF swimmers and team members worked for about 12 hours to pull it out skilfully. They tied the boat on both sides to three heavy boats with ropes and locked it with an anchor.

District Collector Himanshu Shukla, Superintendent of Police Ajitha Vejendla and other officials monitored the situation.

Thirty personnel each of NDRF and SDRF, 100 policemen, Krishnapatnam Port Patrol staff, and Fire and Irrigation officials participated in the operation.

The ropes of the three boats tied to the bridge railing snapped due to the rising floodwaters on Wednesday. The freed boats quickly moved towards the barrage.

One of the three boats, stuck the sand jetty area, and got stuck, while another reached the Kanigiri reservoir. The third boat was stuck at the crest of the old dam, about 400 metres upstream of the barrage.

Since the third boat weighed 35 tonnes, it was difficult to pull it out. After strenuous efforts by NDRF teams along with others for 12 hours, it was finally pulled out.

Collector Himanshu Shukla congratulated the NDRF team.

Officials said if the NDRF teams had not controlled the swept-away boats, there would have been massive destruction at the barrage, and low-lying areas would have been severely inundated.

The Sangam Barrage, which has 85 gates, irrigates 3.85 lakh acres of fallow land in Nellore district. Officials said if it were damaged, the water would have been wasted and farmers would have suffered losses in the coming season.

/IANS