Shimla: Rescue workers on today recovered at least five bodies from the Pandoh dam in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district several hours after 26 people, most of them students, were washed away by the Beas River when engineers at Larji hydropower plant allegedly discharged water into the river without warning.
Have recovered 5 bodies till now, the volume of water is making operation a bit tough,” Sanjeev, a senior Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) official said. With this, the death toll in Sunday’s accident has risen to five, according to Deputy Additional District Magistrate Pankaj Rai. Though the rescue operation is in full swing, the fate of others washed away in the flooded Beas River is still not known.
State’s Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is expected to reach the mishap site in a short while to take stock of the situation. At least 24 students of the VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology in Hyderabad, including six girls, one teacher and a tour manager, were washed away by the Beas River after its water level suddenly increased, and chances of their survival are bleak.
More than 60 students and faculty members, split in two groups, were on an excursion to the picturesque tourist resort of Manali. Some of them were getting themselves photographed on the banks of the river in Thalaut area near the Hanogi Mata temple when they were reportedly washed away as the flow in the river suddenly increased without prior warning.
The distraught parents of the missing students are preparing to visit the mishap site to gather more information about the rescue opertaion being conducted there. Some anxious parents of mising engineering students gathered at VNR College near and pressed the management to make arrangements to take them to Himachal in a special flight.
Telangana Home Minister Naini Narsimha Reddy and a police team have already left for Himachal Pradesh after the tragedy. Reddy left for Himachal Pradesh on the instructions from Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
A group of 48 students studying IInd year Electronics and Instrumentation at a city-based private engineering college were on a study tour of HP when the tragedy struck them this evening,” Srinivasa Rao said. The study tour had started from June 3, he added.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu also expressed shock and anguish over the incident. Naidu is also reported to have requested the Himachal Pradesh government to expedite relief and rescue operations.
Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which include deep water divers, have reached the spot to help with rescue operations. The NDRF teams, comprising 84 personnel, have been dispatched following a directive from Home Minister Rajnath Singh, a Home Ministry official said.
Meanwhile, Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani reached the accident spot in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district. On landing at the Bhuntar airport near Kullu, Irani assured all possible assistance to the state from the centre in the rescue operation.
Spoke to Himachal Pradesh Education Minister (Shri) Bali regarding the tragic incident of 24 engineering students feared washed away near Mandi, also contacted the faculty member who was at the accident site. Was assured by tehsildar sadar Mandi that medical aid has been provided,” Irani said in a tweet.
Irani assured the state Education Ministry, held by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, “of all assistance and support required from the Centre,” a statement released by the HRD ministry said.
The Himachal Pradesh authorities have issued helpline numbers through which latest information related to the rescue operation and the survivors can be obtained. .
Bureau Report
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