Naval divers rushed to Kullu to locate 34 missing passengers

New Delhi, Jul 31: A 11-member team of naval divers along with sonars and navigation equipment were today airlifted to Kullu in Himachal Pradesh to locate the 34 missing passengers of the Manikaran-bound bus that plunged into the Parvati river on July 23.

The divers were airlifted from Vishakapatnam to here following a request from the Himachal Pradesh government.

Thereafter, they were airlifted to Kullu, Defence sources said. The divers are equipped with hand held and side sonars, two rubberised boats along with other equipment.

Two hydrographers are also part of the team, the sources said.

The state government had requested deployment of navy personnel to trace the missing pilgrims underwater, as the turbulent and muddy river water is a major hindrance.

There were 69 passengers, all from Punjab, on board the bus when it had plunged into turbulent Parbati River at Sarsari Kullu district on July 23.

Nine persons were killed in the mishap. Most of the victims hailed from Barnala and Mansa area, of Punjab.

This week, the search teams found some wreckage of the bus, three km downstream from the accident site, but could not trace any more victims.

PTI