Beas tragedy: ISRO, NASA`s help may be sought to locate bodies

Mandi: Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister N Chinna Rajappa Saturday said his government was trying to establish contact with ISRO and NASA to locate the bodies of 16 missing students who were swept away when water was released into the Beas river here without warning last week. "We are trying to establish contact with organisations like ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) and NASA (US space agency)...we will trace all the bodies," Rajappa, who is also Andhra Pradesh`s home and disaster management minister, told reporters here. He reached the mishap site Saturday evening to monitor the ongoing search operation.

The rescuers will Sunday deploy side scan sonar, which can capture pictures of the riverbed, to locate the bodies. The tragedy occurred when 24 students from an engineering college in Hyderabad, on a trip to Manali, and a tour operator were swept away Sunday evening when water was released into the river without warning from a nearby hydropower project.