Ankola landslide: Search for Arjun resumes; Malpe says banyan tree should be removed from riverbed

Kozhikode/ Shirur: Underwater search expert Eshwar Malpe and divers of the Indian Navy resumed the search in Gangavali river on Friday morning for Kozhikode native Arjun who went missing in the massive landslide at Shirur of Ankola in Karnataka. It is learnt that zero visibility in the river due to muddy water is hampering the search operations. Talking to Manorama News Malpe said that a banyan tree that plunged into the river during the landslide should be removed from the riverbed to intensify the search.

He expressed hope to trace the truck as a few pieces of rope which is used for tying timber on trucks were recovered from the river during the search on Wednesday. At the same time, he reiterated that huge blocks of mud accumulated in the river should be cleared using a dredging machine.

“ Four pieces of rope were recovered from the river. We hope that the truck may be trapped near this spot. We will get more visibility of the riverbed once the banyan tree is removed. A crane will be taken today to clear the tree. After clearing the obstacles in the riverbed, we are planning to search in the spots where ropes were found,” said Malpe.

Three divers from Malpe's team will resume the search in the deep waters. Though an advanced dredging machine from Goa has not taken to the spot yet, the divers are planning to clear the riverbed with available tools.

Meanwhile, navy personnel have resumed the search in those spots from where parts of a vehicle were recovered on Wednesday. As per reports, divers of the National Disaster Response Force will join the search on Friday.

Shirur MLA Satish Krishna Sail said that the Karnataka government has been trying to clear the formalities to take a dredging machine from Goa.

Arjun, a truck driver disappeared from the riverbank in Shirur following a massive landslide on July 16. Even after a 13-day-long search in land and water, there is no clue about Arjun. It is suspected that Arjun is trapped inside the truck that got buried under the mud accumulated on the river following the landslide. Meanwhile, Dakshina Kannada district authority confirmed that no human presence was detected in the riverbed during the search using various devices.