PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The word "Malaysia" written with chilli sauce and shirts laid out in the pattern of the Malaysian flag saved the lives of 15 Malaysians who were stranded on a hotel rooftop at Jammu and Kashmir after massive floods hit the Himalayan state.

The group of Malaysians who are now safely back in the country recalled being stranded in the cold for several hours on Sept 7 on the roof of the four-storey hotel in Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, to escape the floods.

A member of the group, Farisha Elaina Abdul Hanif, 23, said she, her friends and her family friends were in Srinagar for the wedding of an elder sister when they were trapped by the floods.

Farisha Elaina said their hotel, fronting the Dall Dam, was inundated when the dam burst following continuous downpour.

"We fought strong currents and fled to the rooftop to save ourselves.

"Within a short time, the initially chest-level flood waters rose to the roof," she added.

"We were forced to think of ways to attract attention (of the rescuers), including using chilli sauce to write the word 'Malaysia' on a towel.

"We also hung shirts in the pattern of the Malaysian flag," Farisha Elaina said after arriving at KLIA.

She told Bernama that they were later rescued using boats.

Farisha Elaina's mother Datin Norzam Aini Hamzah, 59, said the Malaysian High Commission in New Delhi did an excellent job in helping to rescue the groups.