Twenty six tourists including twenty four engineering students from Hyderabad were missing after a river surge near Manali in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday. The incident took place after extra water was released from the Larji Dam at around 6 PM.
The students were from VNR Vignana Jyothi College of Engineering and Technology. A faculty member and a tour manager were also missing.
Himachal Pradesh DGP Sanjay Kumar said that the students were coming from Manali and stopped to take photographs near the river when the surge took place.
He said, "A total of 65 students and faculty members from the engineering college in Hyderabad were on a trip to Manali. They were returning from there. The incident happened near a place in Mandi district called Thalaut when they got down at the riverside of Beas to enjoy it. Suddenly the water level rose and 24 students went missing some of them are feared washed away."
According to information available with authorities in Shimla, 18 boys and six girls were feared to have drowned.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted, "I am deeply pained over the tragic incident of engineering students getting drowned in a flash flood in Himachal Pradesh. I have instructed the authorities to dispatch a rescue team for immediate action and save precious lives trapped in the floods."
The discharge of water increased suddenly and caught everyone unawares as the Project authorities released the water apparently without any warning.
Massive search operations have been launched to trace the missing students but there was no success due to darkness.
According to sources, a special police team is being sent to Himachal Pradesh to help with the search operation. The services of divers have been requisitioned as part of rescue efforts.
Telangana Home Minister Nayani Narasimha is reportedly leaving for Himachal Pradesh on Monday morning.
According to reports, the incident has sparked protests in the area with people blocking a local highway.
About 20 students, who did not go to the river bank, were safe but were in a state of panic.
Efforts were underway to get the details of missing students from them, SR Mardi, ADGP(CID) said.
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.
Larji Dam is located on the Beas river near Mandi, which is on highway leading towards Manali. Due to the hot weather, the water from the dam was released without warning.
