About 25 students from the VNR Vignan Jyothi, Bauchupally in Hyderabad were washed away in Beas river near Kullu in Himachal Pradesh at around 6.30 p.m. on Sunday.
The incident occurred when students were taking pictures at the river bed and they were caught unawares by the gushing waters released from a dam above for power generation, a college official told The Hindu.
The students were on an industrial tour and left Hyderabad on June 3. One of the students, Pratyusha who saved herself said that they were on their way to Kullu from Shimla and they were taking pictures on the river bed. Some students went a bit deep into the waters and they couldn’t rush back as the gushing waters swept them away.
Faculty member Kiran who accompanied the students was also missing as of now and the college authorities were not able to establish contact with him. The students were from the second year of Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering (EIE) branch.
Cyberabad Police Commissioner, C.V. Anand said the police were already in touch with the Mandi SP and gathering further information. A team of officers were monitoring the situation. A helpline number has been opened to help the families of the students and stranded students.
Students who are safe
Students who are safe in HP accident include Chetan, Mohan, Raghuvansh, Rakesh, Lavanya, Nitin, Ramtej, Srikath, Suharsha, Mounika, Pratyusha, Anish, Achyut, Divya, Prabhat, Deepti, Poornasekhar, Vishwas, Navya, Raghavendra, Rushik, Vijay, Pratyusha, Srujan, Nitish, Nikita and Mounika.
Home Minister rushing
A three-member high level delegation led by Telangana Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy is rushing to Himachal Pradesh to oversee rescue and relief operations in Kullu.
Minister for Information Technology K. Tarakarama Rao told The Hindu on Sunday night that information received from Himachal Pradesh said that at least 18 students were missing.
“Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao reviewed the situation and directed the Home Minister to take an IAS and IPS officer along with him to Himachal Pradesh immediately. He also directed the Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma to coordinate with the Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary and provide all possible assistance to the stranded students and bring them back safely,” he said.
The Cabinet meeting expressed shock and anguish at the untoward incident and promised to take all possible steps to help the families of the students.
Naidu shocked
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed deep shock and anguish over the sad incident involving 25 students and requested Himachal Pradesh government to expedite relief and rescue operations.
