00:00.
00:24Sri Lanka is witnessing extraordinary scenes today
00:28while the Air Force releases gripping new footage from ongoing rescue missions across the island.
00:40The images show helicopters hovering low over flood-swamped villages,
00:46winch cables swinging in the wind,
00:48and terrified residents clinging to rooftops as water races beneath them.
00:54According to emergency officials, the death toll from the floods and landslides has now climbed to 56,
01:01with at least 21 people still missing.
01:09And much of the rescue effort is now concentrated in the north-central district of Anurajapura,
01:15where entire hamlets have been cut off by surging floodwaters.
01:20In the newly released video, Air Force teams can be seen lowering harnesses to families stranded for more than 24 hours,
01:29including elderly villagers and children who had taken shelter in treetops after their homes were swept away.
01:37The wind from cyclone Ditwa continues to whip across the plains,
01:47making every extraction a battle against time and against the elements.
01:52On the ground, in Colombo, the situation is no less dramatic.
01:57Footage from the capital shows residents wading through chest-deep water,
02:02holding plastic bags over their heads,
02:04while others use barrels, refrigerators, even broken doors as makeshift rafts to navigate submerged streets.
02:12A sobering reminder of how quickly the cyclone transformed everyday life into a fight for survival.
02:27Officials say the rain bands trailing cyclone Ditwa are still pushing into low-lying areas,
02:33forcing rescue crews to work round the clock.
02:37At one point, three simultaneous helicopter sorties were launched to reach a cluster of villages
02:44where distress calls had abruptly stopped after communications failed.
02:50When rescuers finally made visual contact, they found families signaling with white cloth,
03:01trapped between rising waters and collapsing riverbanks.
03:05The Air Force describes conditions as extremely hazardous.
03:10Pilots are navigating low visibility, unpredictable wind shears,
03:15and narrow landing zones carved out only by the flood water itself.
03:25Yet despite these dangers, teams have managed to airlift dozens of people to safety since dawn.
03:32Meanwhile, relief boats are moving through areas where helicopters can't operate,
03:38weaving through broken bridges, uprooted trees, and floating debris.
03:43Some of the most dramatic onboard footage shows soldiers pulling a man from the water
03:48moments after he was swept downstream, barely conscious, clinging to a branch.
04:05He survived.
04:06Across the island, thousands have now taken refuge in temporary shelters.
04:11Aid workers say the immediate priority is getting dry rations, drinking water,
04:17and medical supplies to isolated pockets that have not yet been reached.
04:28Meteorologists mourn that although Cyclone Ditwa has moved past Sri Lanka,
04:33its aftermath is far from over.
04:35Heavy rains may persist for another day, and with river levels still rising,
04:41authorities fear fresh evacuations may need to be needed.
04:45But for now, the focus is squarely on the skies, and on the teams risking their lives to save others.
04:53Every clip, every rescue, every signal from the ground tells the story of a nation confronting disaster with extraordinary courage.
05:03And as more footage emerges, the scale of both the destruction and the heroism becomes unmistakably clear.
05:11The experience of the sun is exactly unmistakably clear.
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