Punjab govt launches first-ever airlift drone for flood rescue operations

LAHORE: In a major milestone for rescue and relief operations in Pakistan, the Punjab government has introduced the country’s first airlift drone to assist in saving flood-affected people, ARY News reported.

According to officials, the modern drone has the capacity to airlift a person weighing up to 200 kilograms and move them to a safe location. The Home Secretary directed that the drone be dispatched to Multan for immediate deployment in ongoing flood rescue operations.

Before its deployment, the Civil Defence Department successfully completed test flights of the airlift drone in Lahore. Authorities have also decided to procure 10 additional drones to strengthen disaster response capacity.

Punjab Home Secretary said this is Pakistan’s first emergency airlift drone service of its kind, established under the “Punjab Civil Defence Resilience Corps” initiative. He added that Civil Defence personnel and trained volunteers continue to serve as frontline responders, saving precious lives during floods and other emergencies.

پاکستان میں ریسکیو اینڈ ریلیف آپریشنز کیلئے اہم سنگ میل عبور
حکومت پنجاب نے سیلاب متاثرین کیلئے ایئر لفٹ ڈرون حاصل کر لیا pic.twitter.com/eIsDjciVnL

— Government of Punjab (@GovtofPunjabPK) September 10, 2025

Earlier, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) had said that the intensity of the monsoon season has reduced and no further major increase in Punjab’s rivers’ flow is expected.

According to the Director General of PDMA, the spell of monsoon rains in the upper catchment areas has also ended, while the tenth spell of monsoon rains in Punjab has now concluded.

The PDMA reported that no heavy rainfall is expected in Punjab during the coming week. However, high to very high flood levels persist in several rivers.

At Ganda Singh Wala on the Sutlej River, an extremely high flood has been recorded with a water flow of 230,000 cusecs. At Sulemanki, the Sutlej is at a high flood level with 137,000 cusecs.

Also Read: Monsoon weakens, no major rise expected in Punjab river flows: PDMA

On the Chenab River, the water flow at Marala is 62,000 cusecs. At Khanki headworks, a low flood of 98,000 cusecs has been reported, while Qadirabad also faces a low flood with the same flow of 98,000 cusecs. At Trimmu, the water flow has reached 250,000 cusecs. At Panjnad, authorities recorded an extremely high flood of 475,000 cusecs.

On the Ravi River, the flow at Jassar stands at 26,000 cusecs, while at Shahdara it is 31,000 cusecs. At Balloki headworks, a medium-level flood is ongoing with 80,000 cusecs, while at Sidhnai the river is at a high flood level with 121,000 cusecs.

The PDMA said that all departments are on alert as per the directives of the Chief Minister of Punjab. Resources are being fully utilised to protect the lives and property of citizens, and continuous monitoring of river flows is underway.