Authorities to dry up Beas even as Mandi rescue operation continues

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team is still on the hunt for the missing bodies of the 24 engineering students from Hyderabad. The college students were washed away in the Beas River when water was allegedly released from the Laarji dam without warning.

The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) commandant, Shiv Ram told the media that the civil authorities have directed them to totally stop the water of Laarji project for around one hour.

"All the forces have been asked to concentrate on the patch of three to four kilometers. We started the search operation today at 6:30 in the morning and during that our troops came across a jacket containing one valet and some cards like driving license, library card, etc. We are hoping to find something today." said Ram.

No more bodies have been recovered since the eight bodies that were traced till June 12.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had also deployed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to trace the bodies.