Shimla- Rescue workers recovered five bodies of students who drowned in the Beas river near Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district, while the fate of 19 others washed away in the flooded Beas river is still not known, an official said.
At least 24 students, including six girls, of the V.N.R. Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology in Hyderabad were reported missing after strong currents in the mighty Beas river washed them away.
Their chances of survival of the rest of them were bleak, officials said.
More than 60 students and faculty members were on an excursion to the picturesque tourist resort of Manali. Some of them were getting themselves photographed on the banks of the river in Thalaut area near the Hanogi Mata temple when they were reportedly washed away as the flow in the river suddenly increased.