Beas river tragedy: `No siren alert about release of water, help came hours later`

Zee Media Bureau Mandi: Students who have survived the Beas river tragedy in Himachal Pradesh have alleged that help came hours later for them and that there was no siren to alert the people about the release of water nor any danger mark signboards on the river bank, as per reports on Monday. 24 students were washed away last evening in river Beas near Thalot on Manali-Kiratpur Highway, 40 kms from Mandi. Five bodies were recovered today. Meanwhile, massive search operation is underway to find survivors if any. However as per reports on the gorouns the chances of their survival appeared dim. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today visited the mishap site and promised stern action against those found guilty of negligence in the case. For the ill-fated group of students of a city-based engineering college merrily taking photos on the banks of Beas river in Himachal Pradesh, tragedy struck in a matter of couple of minutes as they were washed away in the swirling waters which suddenly rose several feet. The gush of water turned out to be a tide of death, recounted surviving students. Many of them, particularly girls, were seen in a state of panic in Himachal Pradesh, where they are accommodated in lodges. The students were caught unawares by the sudden discharge of water in the river from the reservoir of 126 MW Larji project. Even as rescue and relief operations were on at the incident spot, the surviving students had a harrowing tale to narrate on the tragedy. "It all happened in a matter of only 2-3 minutes," said one of the students, as per PTI. Ravi Kumar, a student who was part of the group from the Hyderabad college, said, "I tried to alert my friends...I ran towards my friends but by the water level had shot up." 19-year-old TV Suharsha, said their group had 48 students, three faculty members and a child of one of the faculty members. "It was around 5.30-6 pm on the third day of our tour and we all wanted to stop for a break. "We were all sitting on the rocks, taking photos. There was a big rock in the middle of the river and everyone wanted to reach to the top of that rock. Some made their way to it by stepping on a series of small rocks. "After about 10 minutes, the water level started rising. I was upstream and I noticed it first. I began screaming, trying to alert everyone as I rushed back," a shocked Suharsa said. "The locals were also helping us. About 15-20 students were washed away in front of us," the student said. With PTI inputs