Himachal tragedy: Search on for missing students, Telangana govt seeks Army`s help

Zee Media Bureau/Ritesh K Srivastava

Mandi: Even as rescuers negotiated through huge boulders and high level of silt to trace 19 missing engineering students and a tour guide who were washed away in the turbulent waters of the Beas River on Sunday, the Telangana government on Wednesday sought Army`s help in the rescue work. Telangana Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy, who is camping in Mandi along with parents of missing children, said, "Our leader Jitendra Reddy met Home Minister Rajnath Singh today and urged that at least 500 armymen be put on the job to speed up the search operations." He said, "Our leaders told the home minister that the state government and NDRF are doing their best but Army assistance would speed up the search operations. The parents of the missing children are getting restive and search operations should be intensified with involvement of rescue teams of the army". Reddy said the Telangana government has also written to the Defence Ministry seeking Army help. Meanwhile, Shashidhar Reddy, Vice Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is likely to visit the accident site and monitor the rescue operations. While bodies of five students have been recovered, a hunt is on to trace 19 students and a tour operator who were washed away in the waters of the Beas. The students of a Hyderabad-based engineering college were on a tour when the tragedy struck on Sunday. Meanwhile, a case of negligence has been registered against authorities of the Larji Hydropower project. SP Mandi RS Negi today said that a case under sections 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304-A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC has been registered against the authorities of Larji project. The FIR against the project authorities was registered by A Aditya, a teacher accompanying the students.