The debris accumulated on National Highway 66 near Shirur village in the Uttara Kannada district, due to the landslide, was cleared on Monday, July 22. However, the body of Arjun, the missing driver from Kerala is yet to be found. Rescue officials believe that Arjun could be trapped along with his vehicle under tonnes of landslide debris. They suspect that the debris from the landslide fell into the river and took Arjun and his vehicle along with it.
Arjun was driving a BharatBenz truck loaded with 40 tonnes of timber to Kozhikode from Belagavi and had stopped for tea on the Panvel-Kanyakumari NH-66 near Shirur when the landslide occurred on July 16. The landslide covered 300 metres of the highway, sweeping away a tea shop and at least seven people. Two bodies were found near the sea.
Multiple rescue teams have been searching for Arjun for almost a week in Shirur. The rescue efforts had slowed down due to continuous rain. Arjun’s family alleges that the Karnataka government is not doing enough to locate him, while officials maintain they are doing everything possible to retrieve his body.
Earth movers and trucks are working around the clock to clear the debris, and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has been deployed after Arjun’s BharatBenz truck emitted GPS signals. GPR uses radio waves to capture images below the surface of the ground. Arjun’s family reported his phone rang as late as July 19, giving them hope.
A team from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Suratkal has been enlisted to locate the truck using GPR. Despite searching a 30-meter radius around the last-known location, they are yet to locate the truck. Mixed soil conditions, including red soil, clay, mud with iron content, and rocks, are complicating the search, officials disclosed.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda who is overseeing the rescue operations said that the rescue operation at the Shirur landslide site is continuing. “The search under the accumulated mud on the road is almost complete, but we have not found any survivor or truck. While we have been carrying out operations in the river and open water, the focus is now more on the Gangavalli river. Every lead on the riverfront is being pursued, with deep divers trying to locate the truck cabin.”
The Minister informed that the NDRF, SDRF, Fire and Emergency Services, and Navy are continuing their efforts on land and water. “The Indian Army Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief Team, comprising one officer, two JCOs, and 55 other ranks of Maratha Light Infantry Regiment Centre, Belgaum, and one JCO and two other ranks from the College of Military Engineering, Pune, are also engaged in the operations,” he said.