Karnakata landslide: Kerala native Arjun's lorry found in Gangavali River after 71 days

A lorry, driven by Arjun from Kozhikode, who went missing in a landslide in Shirur, Karnataka, was recovered from the Gangavali River after 71 days of searching.

Ankola: The lorry owned by Manaf, driven by Arjun, a Kozhikode native who went missing in a landslide in Shirur, Karnataka, has been recovered from the Gangavali River on Wednesday (Sep 25). A body was found in the lorry's cabin, but its identity has yet to be confirmed. After 71 days of search efforts, the mission team successfully retrieved the lorry. Manaf confirmed that Arjun was the driver at the time of the incident.

The search for three missing individuals, including Arjun, who vanished after a massive landslide in Shirur, Ankola, Karnataka, resumed on Monday morning. During the operation, a crash guard from Arjun's truck was retrieved from the Gangavali River using a dredger. Manaf, the truck's owner, confirmed the crash guard belonged to his vehicle. This marked the first discovery of Arjun’s truck in the river, along with another metal object that was also recovered.

Underwater search specialist Eshwar Malpe retrieved several vehicle parts on Saturday, including tires and a steering wheel, from the river. However, both truck owner Manaf and Manjeshwar MLA AKM Ashraf confirmed that none of these parts were from Arjun's vehicle.

The lorry was found at the bottom of the Gangavali River, and the truck's owner, Manaf, confirmed that it belonged to Arjun. Arjun had been missing since July 16. The search was conducted in three phases, but heavy rains and strong currents had forced a halt to the operations earlier. During the resumed search, both the lorry and Arjun's body were recovered.