Kullu bus tragedy: Month on, NDRF team pulls out of search operation

Over a month after a Manikaran-bound bus plunged into the Parvati river in Bhuntar, Kullu, the district administration has pulled out the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team searching for the missing pilgrims.

Over a month after a Manikaran-bound bus plunged into the Parvati river in Bhuntar, Kullu, the district administration has pulled out the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team searching for the missing pilgrims.

Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal with the families of the Kullu bus accident victims in Bathinda on Sunday. (Sanjeev Kumar/HT)

Meanwhile, one unidentified body was fished out from near Larji dam site on Friday. Talking to Hindustan Times, Kullu additional district magistrate Vinay Singh Thakur said through its search operation between the accident side near Sarsari village and Larji dam, the NDRF team had fished out 22 bodies so far, while 24 passengers were still missing.

Though the NDRF had pulled out, police and home guard personnel would continue to search for the victims, he added. Even the family members of the missing pilgrims who had been stayed in Kullu town for over a month in hope of finding their kin have left for their native places.

There were 69 people on board the 52-seater bus. While 23 had escaped with injuries, 36 were swept away in the turbulent waters of the Parvati.

However, due to the tumultuous and muddy waters of the Parvati river, the team failed to find any success and retreated a week later.