Around 24 engineering students from Hyderabad are feared to have been washed away on Sunday evening in River Beas near Thalot on the Manali-Kiratpur Highway, 40 km from Mandi.

The sightseeing trip to Himachal Pradesh turned tragic when the students, including some girls, who were taking photographs on the banks of the river, were swept away by the gushing waters of Beas as discharge of water suddenly rose following its release from the reservoir of the 126 MW Larji Hydropower Project.

According to information available with authorities in Shimla on Sunday night, 18 boys and six girls are feared to have been washed away.

The discharge of water rose suddenly and caught everyone unawares as the Project authorities released the water apparently without any warning.