24 city engg students washed away in HP

• 60 students and 3 faculty members of VNR College at Bachupally were on an excursion to Kullu-Manali
• The missing students are not yet identified
• They were taking photographs on the banks of the river Beas when gushing waters swept them away
• Search operation is on
• About 33 survivors are shifted to a relief centre
• KCR and Chandrababu Naidu express shock
• Two teams of NDRF including divers rushed to the spot

Hyderabad: Sightseeing trip to Himachal Pradesh turned tragic for 24 engineering students from Hyderabad who are feared to have been washed away this evening in the river Beas near Thalot on Manali-Kiratpur Highway, 40 Km from Mandi.

According to sources, around 60 students of VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering College in Bachupally went for an industrial tour to Kullu-Manali along with three faculty members on June 3.

The group of students included some 13 girls. Some of them were taking photographs at the bank of the river around 6 pm on Sunday when they were swept away by the gushing waters of the Beas as discharge of water suddenly increased following its release from the reservoir of 126 mw Larji hydropower project.

The students were caught unawares as the Project authorities released the water apparently without any warning. Enraged people in the area blocked the national highway after the incident.

Both Telangana Chief Minsiter K Chandrasekhar Rao and AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock over the tragic incident. Naidu took the incident to the notice of Union Home Minister who attended his swearing-in near Guntur on Sunday.

The Telangana State government requested the Himachal Pradesh government to extend all help in search and rescue operations. Home Minister Nayini Narsimha Reddy is leaving for the State on Monday. Telangana Chief Secretary, meanwhile, urged his counterpart to provide details of the missing students. Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which include deep water divers, have been rushed to help with rescue operations in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh where about 24 students are feared to have been washed away in the Beas river. The NDRF teams, comprising 84 personnel, have been disptached following a directive from Home Minister Rajnath Singh, a Home Ministry official said.

Massive search operations have been launched to trace the missing students but there was no success due to darkness. Sirisha, a student who was among the survivors, told the media over phone that no officials had reached the spot. The police reached the spot in about 30 minutes of the incident.

The students alleged that lack of coordination between the students and the power project officials had led to the misunderstanding. If the officials had issued timely warning, the tragedy could have been avoided.

When contacted, administrative officer of the Engineering college C V Rao said, “We are on the job to contact our faculty members. Their numbers are not reachable despite our repeated efforts. Only after getting in touch with any of our faculty members I can say anything substantial. I am helpless.” A faculty member Kiran, who was leading the team of students, said, “Several students were missing from the group which comprised 37 boys and 13 girls. We have alerted the police and rescue team to try and search for the missing students. The police have thrown nets into the water have taken up search operations.”

It is learnt the remaining stranded students were shifted to a relief centre in Mata Mandir.

The services of divers have been requisitioned as part of rescue efforts. About 20 students, who did not go to the river bank, are safe but were in a state of panic. Meanwhile, People living along the two sides of the river bank downstream of the dam have been alerted to inform the police about any person sighted by them. The incident has sent shock waves and parents and friends of the missing students are making frantic calls to know about their whereabouts.

Telangana Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma told the media in Hyderabad that a three-member team comprising Home Minister Naini Narsimha Reddy, Principal Secretary, (Revenue), BR Meena and Greyhounds SP Karthikeya would leave for Kullu-Manali by the 7 am flight on Monday. He said DGP Anurag Sharma was in constant touch with his counterparts in Himachal Pradesh. A nodal officer is being appointed to expedite the rescue and relief operations. He said the rescue operations would be taken up tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said that the state government would take all necessary measures to see that the students who were stranded and the bodies of those who died in the tragic incident were brought back to Hyderabad.

List of some students who are safe

Raman, Teja, Rishika, Lavanya, Ragavamsha, Divya, Srikar, Deepthi, Prathusha, Navya, Rakesh, Srujanth, Nithin, Srikanth, Ragavendra, Suharsha, Chetan, Purnashekar, Pratap, Archuth, Mohan, Khetan, Viswas, Aneesh, Navya, Mounika, Raghuvamshi, Purnasekhar, Raman Tej, Ruthika, Kshitheej and Suvarna