Hunt for missing students: Telangana govt seeks Army's help

The Telangana government today sought the help of the Army for speeding up the search operations to recover the bodies of students washed away in the Beas River.

Telangana Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy, who is camping in Mandi along with parents of missing children, said, "Our leader Jitendra Reddy met Home Minister Rajnath Singh today and urged that at least 500 armymen be put on the job to speed up the search operations."

He said, "Our leaders told the home minister that the state government and NDRF are doing their best but Army assistance would speed up the search operations.The parents of the missing children are getting restive and search operations should be intensified with involvement of rescue teams of the army".

Reddy said the Telangana government has also written to the Defence Ministry seeking Army help.

Meanwhile, Shashidhar Reddy, Vice Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is likely to visit the accident site and monitor the rescue operations.

While bodies of five students have been recovered, a hunt is on to trace 19 students and a tour operator who were washed away in the waters of the Beas. The students of a Hyderabad-based engineering college were on a tour when the tragedy struck on Sunday.