2 NDRF rescue teams rushed to Himachal

Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force, which include deep water divers, have been rushed to help with rescue operations in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh where about 24 students are feared to have been washed away in the Beas river.
The NDRF teams, comprising 84 personnel, have been disptached following a directive from Home Minister Rajnath Singh, a Home Ministry official said tonight.
Around 24 engineering students, including some girls, from Hyderabad are feared to have been washed away this evening in the Beas near Thalot on the Manali-Kiratpur highway, 40-km from Mandi.
The incident occurred when the students, who were taking photographs on the banks of the Beas, were swept away by the gushing waters of the river following the release of water from the reservoir of the 126MW Larji hydropower project.

According to information available with authorities in Shimla, 18 boys and six girls are feared drowned in the tragedy.