With the recovery of one more body the toll in Parbati bus mishap in Kullu district rose to nine while the mumber of missing persons was reported to be 33.
Five out of nine victims of the yesterday's accident whose bodies have been recovered from the Parbati river are women while six out of 33 mission persons, feared to have been washed in the river are also women.
Earlier, a joint team of TBP, SSB and police personnel resumed massive search operations in the wee hours of today. Rafters and divers were scouring the areas between the accident site and Pandoh and Larji dams in Mandi district, Kullu Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Kanwar said.
A 40-member NDRF contingent was expected to reach the accident site by the evening. The state government has sought the help of divers from Bhakra Beas Management board (BBMB) to locate the bodies and they have arrived here, Kanwar said.
He said that 23 rescued persons have been rushed to the civil hospital in Kullu. Of these, four seriously injured have been referred to PGI, Chandigarh.
The gates of Pandoh dam have been shut to prevent the chances of the bodies flowing into the turbulent Beas river, he said.
The DC said a general alert has been sounded and people have been asked to remain vigilant and inform the administration or police if they spot a missing person or a body.
The Kullu district administration said that the total number of passengers in the ill-fated 52-seater bus was 65.
The bus had plunged into turbulent Parbati River at Sarsari Kullu district yesterday. Most of the victims hailed from Barnala and Mansa area, police said.
