Kozhikode/ Shirur: All eyes are on the rescue operation launched to find Arjun, a native of Kozhikode who went missing in a massive landslide in Karnataka's Shirur. As per the latest reports, divers of the Indian Navy have been searching in the estuary of Gangavalli river as neither Arjun nor his truck was found in the search carried out in the land.
It is assumed that Arjun and his truck may have fallen into the river and trapped in the river. While intensifying the search on Thursday, navy personnel had searched the parts of the river close to the National Highway 66 where a hill flowed down to the road during the landslide. But they confifmed that the truck was not in the riverbed.
Manorama News reported that the search for Arjun is in the crucial phase as most advanced machines are taken to Shirur to trace the truck.
At the same time, the search in Gangavalli river which has a depth of more than 25 feet and a length of 161 km will be a herculean task for the rescuers. The huge quantity of mud that flowed down from the hill during the landslide accumulated in the river and formed a small island. As per the latest readings in the GPR, an object is detected at an 8-metre depth of the river.
Most advanced machines are being taken to the spot for removing the mud maximum from the accident spit Searches in land and river are underway simultaneously from Tuesday morning. The Army team is conducting the operation with Ferrex Locator - GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar), a specilised device for locating under water and soil metals.
According to officials, the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Fire and Emergency Services and the Navy are continuing operations at the site and in the Gabgavalli river.
"During the search operation, we recovered one more body, which was of a 65-year-old woman. The decomposed body was recovered from the Gangavalli river. Search operations are underway to trace three more people, including the lorry driver (Arjun) from Kerala," Superintendent of Police (Karwar), Narayana M told PTI.
The Indian Army Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief Team comprising an officer, two Junior commissioned officers and 55 others of Maratha Light Infantry Regiment, Belagavi, and one Junior commissioned officer and two others from College of Military Engineering, Pune, are also engaged in the exercise.
Besides the rescue apparatus already in the field, the army team has specialised tools including ground penetration radars, deep search metal detectors, rafts with overboard motors and specialised climbing equipment, officials said.
As per the satellite images from the Indian Space Research Organisation of the day of the massive landslide on July 16, there could be a possibility of a truck being pushed into the river.
(with PTI inputs)
