With Andhra Pradesh reeling under heavy rains over the past 48 hours and normal life being thrown out of gear, here comes a story of sheer grit in the face of adversity.

A 14-year-old boy managed to hang on for dear life by clinging on to a tree for eight hours, after being left stranded by the raging floods.

All this happened while three of his family members got washed away in the floods right before his eyes.

The incident occurred at the Ganganapalem lift irrigation site in Guntur district.

Venkateshwarulu watched in horror as the floodwaters took away three of his family members; father Ch. Kondalu, mother Subbulu and sister Vanaja.

However, undeterred by this and showing great courage, the boy clambered on to a palm tree and stayed there till the floodwaters receded. The entire ordeal lasted for eight hours.

While some people of the village saw him and informed the administration, no help was forthcoming. The National Disaster Response Force and police also failed to be of any assistance.

Even a helicopter sent by the district administration couldn’t rescue the boy.

Eventually, it was the villagers who finally reached him with the help of a rope and managed to drag him to safety after the waters had subsided.