As many as five persons were stranded at Narmala near Gambhiraopet in Rajanna Sircilla district after flood water encircled the area where they had gone for cattle grazing near the Upper Manair Project on Wednesday afternoon, prompting the district authorities to launch a rescue operation.

A State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team was pressed into service to aid the rescue operation even as heavy rain battered the catchment areas of Manair river late in the afternoon, sources said.