Mandi, June 9
At least 24 engineering college students (18 boys and 6 girls) from Andhra Pradesh are feared to have been washed away in Beas near Thalot in Mandi district on Sunday.

Forty eight students of Hyderabad’s VNR Vignana Jyothi College of Engineering and Technology, who were returning from Manali in two buses, ventured into Beas around 7 pm to click photographs, when water was suddenly released from nearby Larji Dam.

The students were caught off-guard as water level rose dramatically. Over two dozen students are feared to have been swept away, said reports. “As many as 18 boys and six girls are feared to have been swept away,” said Director General of Police, Sanjay Kumar, adding that relief and rescue operations were on.

Enraged over negligence of Larji Dam officials, a large number of tourists and locals blocked the National Highway No. 21 and hurled stones at authorities.

ADM Mandi and other officials were also stuck in the blockade which continued till the filing ofthe report.

Enraged students block traffic on the Mandi-Kullu national highway in Thalot near Mandi on Sunday. Jai Kumar

Officials said the Larji hydro-project authorities had been immediately asked to stop the release of water and divers had been summoned to trace the students.

Normally, the authorities at the Larji project do issue a warning before releasing water. “But today no such procedure was followed,” said sources.

Were from Hyderabad

Students of Hyderabad's VNR Vignana Jyothi College of Engineering and Technology were returning from Manali when they stopped near Thalot and ventured into the river to click photographs

As they were busy clicking pictures, water was suddenly released from the nearby Larji Dam by authorities.

Caught off-guard, 24 students went missing in the current

2 NDRF rescue teams rushed to HP

Two National Disaster Response Force teams, which include deep water divers, have been rushed to help in rescue operations

The NDRF teams, comprising 84 personnel, have been disptached following a directive from Home Minister Rajnath Singh